Potential release of Hosni Mubarak fuels outrage, fear of more clashes, Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, overthrown in a popular uprising in 2011 and languishing in jail since then, could be free in days after a Cairo court decided Monday he could not be legally held in a corruption case, his lawyer told The Globe and Mail.
“He will be released within 48 hours, the day after tomorrow, God willing,” said his lawyer Farid El Deeb.Mr. Mubarak, the octogenarian former air-force commander, who ruled the country with an iron fist for three decades, was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killings of protesters during his last days in power.
But in January, an appeals court ordered a retrial and the only obstacle to his freedom was a relatively minor corruption case – which the court will decide on in the next few weeks.
“We have one small problem – it was a small case, the case of Al Ahram gifts,” Mr. El Deeb added, referring to the case involving about $1-million worth of personal gifts Mr. Mubarak is accused of accepting from a state news organization over his last six years in office.
Mr. El Deeb declined to comment on the retrial for the criminal negligence charges, saying: “We have no other problems.”
Some Egyptians, for whom Mr. Mubarak is the epitome of authoritarian rule and corruption, expressed incredulity at the development.
“It looks like we’re going backward,” said Ayesha Selim, a teacher in Cairo. “He still has other charges against him – it’s too soon.”
Others were outraged.
“We don’t have any justice in this country,” said Ahmed Hassan, a lawyer. “And if we don’t have justice, we will never see the January 25 revolution through,” he added, referring to the 2011 uprising.
David Schenker, an Arab politics analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that Mr. Mubarak’s release would fuel conspiracy theories.
“This is a guy who was facing the gallows, and now he’s going to leave,” Mr. Schenker said.
“It’s very difficult for him to return to public life. … But will he stay in Egypt? He said earlier that he is going to die in Egypt. But a lot of these guys end up going to Saudi Arabia to live out their final days.”
Others worried it would be a boon for the Muslim Brotherhood, whose supporters have protested for weeks since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in June and installed an interim government. More than 800 people have died in the past week alone in clashes with security forces who have tried to clear the streets of Islamist supporters.
If Mr. Mubarak is released, “the Muslim Brotherhood would say: ‘Hey, if this confirms anything, it confirms that the old regime is back and removing Morsi was the first step in reinstating the old regime,’” said Mazen Hassan, a political science lecturer at Cairo University.
That is fuelling fears of even worse clashes to come.
“Because of what is happening in the country, [releasing Mr. Mubarak] will be a big mistake,” said Nahla Djabi, a lawyer, in Cairo.
“He will be released within 48 hours, the day after tomorrow, God willing,” said his lawyer Farid El Deeb.Mr. Mubarak, the octogenarian former air-force commander, who ruled the country with an iron fist for three decades, was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killings of protesters during his last days in power.
But in January, an appeals court ordered a retrial and the only obstacle to his freedom was a relatively minor corruption case – which the court will decide on in the next few weeks.
“We have one small problem – it was a small case, the case of Al Ahram gifts,” Mr. El Deeb added, referring to the case involving about $1-million worth of personal gifts Mr. Mubarak is accused of accepting from a state news organization over his last six years in office.
Mr. El Deeb declined to comment on the retrial for the criminal negligence charges, saying: “We have no other problems.”
Some Egyptians, for whom Mr. Mubarak is the epitome of authoritarian rule and corruption, expressed incredulity at the development.
“It looks like we’re going backward,” said Ayesha Selim, a teacher in Cairo. “He still has other charges against him – it’s too soon.”
Others were outraged.
“We don’t have any justice in this country,” said Ahmed Hassan, a lawyer. “And if we don’t have justice, we will never see the January 25 revolution through,” he added, referring to the 2011 uprising.
David Schenker, an Arab politics analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that Mr. Mubarak’s release would fuel conspiracy theories.
“This is a guy who was facing the gallows, and now he’s going to leave,” Mr. Schenker said.
“It’s very difficult for him to return to public life. … But will he stay in Egypt? He said earlier that he is going to die in Egypt. But a lot of these guys end up going to Saudi Arabia to live out their final days.”
Others worried it would be a boon for the Muslim Brotherhood, whose supporters have protested for weeks since the military overthrew Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in June and installed an interim government. More than 800 people have died in the past week alone in clashes with security forces who have tried to clear the streets of Islamist supporters.
If Mr. Mubarak is released, “the Muslim Brotherhood would say: ‘Hey, if this confirms anything, it confirms that the old regime is back and removing Morsi was the first step in reinstating the old regime,’” said Mazen Hassan, a political science lecturer at Cairo University.
That is fuelling fears of even worse clashes to come.
“Because of what is happening in the country, [releasing Mr. Mubarak] will be a big mistake,” said Nahla Djabi, a lawyer, in Cairo.
