Egypt: court orders Mubarak retrial in 2011 killings
Judge Anwar Gabri of the Egyptian Court of Cassation ordered a retrial on June 4 for former president Hosni Mubarak regarding his complicity in the killings of hundreds of protestors in the 2011 demonstrations that ousted his regime. This order overturns his acquittal by Cairo's Criminal Court last November, and he is set to stand trial again beginning November. Mubarak was separately convicted of corruption earlier this year and sentenced to three years in prison. The Cassation Court upheld the rulings in other cases that acquitted Mubarak and his sons of graft charges. Opponents of Mubarak view this decision for retrial as a victory in a court system that has been too lenient, but his supporters claim there can be no stability in the region while Mubarak is treated "unfairly." This retrial marks the third time this case will be heard, but its verdict will be the final verdict in this case.
From Jurist, June 4. Used with permission.
Egypt sentences former prime minister to five years
An Egyptian court on July 22 sentenced former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to five years in prison on during a retrial graft charges. Nazif served during the presidency of Hosni Mubarak until the start of the Egyptian uprising in 2011, and was convicted of using his position to make illicit gains in excess of 64 million Egyptian pounds, or approximately $8.2 million. He was also accused of accepting gifts from members of the national press. In addition to being sentenced tto five years, he was also ordered to pay a fine of 53 million Egyptian pounds ($6.8 million) and return 48 million Egyptian pounds ($6.2 million) that were stolen. Nazif was arrested and charged in 2011 around the time that Mubarak was overthrown, and kept in custody until 2013. He has since been tried from outside court.
From Jurist, July 23. Used with permission.
Egypt sentences 89 Ikhwan members to life imprisonment
An Egyptian criminal court on Aug. 22 sentenced Mohamed Badie and 88 other Muslim Brotherhood members to life imprisonment for their role in a 2013 attack on a police station. Most defendants were tried and sentenced in absentia for the killing of five people at a police station in the northeastern city of Port Said in August 2013. The attack came two days after a police crackdown in Cairo on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, resulting in hundreds of deaths. Twenty-eight other defendants were given 10-year terms, and 71 were acquitted. This most recent sentencing is Badie's sixth life term, which is a 25-year sentence in Egypt. In June, a court upheld death sentences for Badie and Morsi for orchestrating attempted jailbreaks and attacks on police during the 2011 uprising.
From Jurist, Aug. 22. Used with permission.