Prosecution to appeal Mubarak sentence, demand death penalty

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak settled into his new home at the Tora prison in Cairo on Sunday as the Egyptian prosecution announced it intended to submit an appeal against his life sentence to the Egyptian Supreme Court and demand that both Mubarak and his former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly receive the death penalty instead.

A special court that convened in the Police Academy compound in Cairo on Saturday sentenced Mubarak and el-Adly to life in prison for their roles in the killing of demonstrators during the popular uprising that began on Jan. 25, 2011. Mubarak’s sons, Gamal and Aalaa, were acquitted of corruption charges because the statute of limitations had expired, but remained incarcerated to face other charges of fraud at a later date.

The 84-year-old former president, who ruled Egypt for 30 years, was taken to the prison medical facility after suffering a heart attack on Saturday after hearing his verdict. Senior prison officials said on Sunday his condition had stabilized and he had agreed to don a prison uniform.

After the absorption process, which included a profile photo and receipt of an identification number, Mubarak was assigned a bed in the medical ward. A request by his sons to be housed in a cell next to their father was turned down by prison authorities.

The Egyptian daily Al-Ahram reported on Sunday that according to a senior prosecutor in the case, the prosecution intended to appeal the leniency of Mubarak’s and el-Adly’s sentences and ask instead that they be sentenced to death. Prosecutors will also ask for the revocation of the sons’ acquittals, as well as that of the six security officials who were also charged with the deliberate killing of demonstrators, since under Egyptian law an appeal must include the entire verdict.

As the public call for the execution of Mubarak gathered steam, Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi reiterated his promise that if elected president in the run-off scheduled for June 16-17, he would make sure Mubarak was tried again. „I am obligated to avenge the blood of the shahids [martyrs] who died for the sake of deposing the dictator. And that is what I am going to do,” Morsi said.

Mubarak’s attorney said on Sunday that he too would appeal the sentence as well as the former president’s prison conditions.

As the legal battle was set to move back to the court, the streets in Cairo were filled with protesters demanding the execution of Mubarak, his sons and el-Adly. Demonstrators in Tahrir Square burned images of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, who served as prime minister under Mubarak, and one protester shouted, „He is a remnant of the old regime. The remnants are everywhere. We must not allow them to regain power.”

For the second time in a week, hundreds of protesters attacked Shafiq’s campaign headquarters in Cairo and pillaged the building. Many protesters in Tahrir Square called for an end to the Supreme Military Council, which has been governing the country since Mubarak was deposed, and for the head of the council, Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, to be put on trial for lying to the public.

Anger was directed against Tantawi after the protocols of his testimony in the Mubarak case were released by Arab media on Sunday. According to the reports, Tantawi said he never heard Mubarak issue an order to kill demonstrators and that the army was sent into the streets to support the police forces as part of Mubarak’s commitment to the safety of the country and its citizens.

Tantawi also stated that several days prior to the uprising leaders of the Egyptian defense establishment predicted the violent events to come but police officials ignored their warnings.

A senior prosecutor was quoted as saying Sunday, „The testimony of the head of the military council, Tantawi, saved both Mubarak and el-Adly from the noose.”