Life in prison for Mubarak doesn’t bode well for Egypt

Ousted President Hosni Mubarak did nothing to stop the deadly shooting of more than 800 Egyptians and the injuring of thousands by government forces during the 18-day revolution that began in late Jaunary 2011. For that, the 84-year-old Mubarak, who resigned Feb. 11, has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars. But given the “health crisis” he experienced on a helicopter flight to a Cairo prison hospital, he could well be placed under house arrest by Judge Ahmed Rifaat, who has had past dealings with the Mubarak regime.

Hosni Mubarak deserved the death penalty for all the blood on his hand. He, along with his former exterior minister, Habib El-Adly, and six of his aides were charged with complicity in the deadly shooting of protesters during what has been called the Arab Spring. The popular uprising spread through the Middle East and North Africa.

The death toll in Egypt was 846. El-Adly, who also received a life sentence, led a corrupt interior ministry that was “infamous for torture crimes,” according to the website, thedailynewsegypt.com. The deaths of now iconic figures like Sayed Belal and Khaled Saeid in Alexandria were one of the triggers of the January uprising.

But Mubarak’s escaping the hangman’s noose is not the only travesty of justice in a country that is still trying to find a foothold in democracy.

The former president and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, were acquitted by Judge Rifaat of charges of abusing power to amass wealth, enriching associates and accepting bribes.

The acquittals and Mubarak’s life in prison sentence have ignited widespread demonstrations in Egypt. The families of the dead and the victims of torture rightly contend that justice has not been served.

Judge Rifaat’s indictment of the regime that expressed deep sympathy for the uprising 15 months ago did nothing to quell the anger.

“The people released a collective sigh of relief after a nightmare that did not, as is customary, last for a night, but for almost 30 black, black, black years — darkness that resembled a winter night,” he said in opening the court session. “They did not seek a luxurious life or to sit atop the world, but asked their politicians, rulers who sat on the throne of opulence, wealth and power to give them bread and clean water to satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst to be in a home that shelters their families and the sons of the nation far from the rotten slums. They were chanting ‘peaceful, peaceful’ with their mouths while their stomachs were empty and their strength was failing ... They screamed ... ‘rescue us and pull us from the torture of poverty and humiliation.’”

Flowery language

But such flowery language from the judge did not translate into the one act that would have let those who were killed rest in peace: the public hanging of Hosni Mubarak.

As one of the uprising’s key pro-democracy groups, April 6, put it: “We will continue to cleanse Egypt from corruption.” It was a reference to the fact that the judge who presided over the case not only had past dealings with the Mubarak regime, but had paid homage to the protesters while ignoring the grief of the families of those killed by acquitting the top police commanders.

The judge’s verdicts and sentences should be reviewed by a higher court.

The new Egypt deserves a system of justice that is beyond reproach.