Nearly 18 months after protests prompted his resignation, former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison today.
Al Jazeera reports that the sentence was "for complicity in killing more than 800 protesters during last year's revolution... Judge Ahmed Refaat acknowledged problems with the prosecution's case, which was widely criticised by legal experts. Prosecutors did not present evidence that Mubarak, 84, directly ordered the killings. But Refaat faulted the former president for not stopping them, and delivered a speech about what he called the 'dark days' of Mubarak's rule."
The judge added, "They marched peacefully towards Tahrir Square, demanding justice, freedom and democracy." The judge also found Mubarak not guilty of misusing funds and corruption.
While news of the sentence was cheered by many outside the courtroom in Cairo, apparently inside the court's gallery, some men were yelling and fighting, "We want honesty! Revolution til victory!" Others went to Tahrir Square, demanding Mubarak be executed.
According to the NY Times, "Egyptian state television reported that within hours of the decision, Mr. Mubarak, 84, had suffered a 'health crisis' as he was being flown by helicopter to a Cairo prison from the military hospital where he had awaited the verdict. He was being treated inside the helicopter which he refused to leave, the state network reported."
Amnesty International says 840 people were killed during last year's uprising and other 6,000 were injured.
