Egyptian Dictator Hosni Mubarak Acquitted on Corruption, Murder Charges
An Egyptian court has dropped all the remaining charges against the former dictator Hosni Mubarak, completing the rollback of the gains made during the Egyptian revolution of 2011.
The New York Times reports that the decision makes it increasingly likely that Mubarak will be released from military custody without facing justice for crimes such as corruption and ordering security forces to open fire on peaceful protestors.
Among the corruption charges are allegations that Mubarak sold Egyptian natural gas to Israel at prices unfavorable to Egypt. There are also allegations that Mubarak and his sons received palatial homes on the Red Sea as part of a land deal, according to the Times. Mubarak's sons also faced their own set of corruption charges, but have also been acquitted, according to the Times. The Times notes that the three judges responsible for the Mubarak case did not provide any explanation for their decision, which was made in a document that is more than 1,300 pages long. A possible reasoning for the acquittal on the murder charges is that so many people below Mubarak were also able to issue such orders, making it difficult to directly attribute the orders to open fire to Mubarak. The Times also says that the corruption charges against Mubarak were not properly formulated and supported with adequate evidence. The decision to acquit Mubarak may only increase unrest in Egypt. Some supporters of Mubarak's replacement, Mohammed Morsi, have turned to violence because the military overthrew Morsi, who was democratically elected, and replaced him with General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Those who support Morsi regularly hold protests at universities and clash violently with police. Resistance to Sisi's government is so strong in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula that it is a de facto warzone, replete with checkpoints and ambushes of Egyptian soldiers.
