(Newser)
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Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will get life in prison, a Cairo court announced today, convicting him of complicity in the killing of protesters during last year's uprisings, reports the BBC. In addition, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly also received a life sentence for his role the protesters' deaths. But six other security officials were acquitted for their involvement in the killings. Mubarak and his two sons were also acquitted on corruption charges, although his sons are still being prosecuted for insider trading. Mubarak’s government “committed the gravest sins, tyranny and corruption without accountability or oversight as their consciences died, their feelings became numb and their hearts in their chests turned blind,” said the judge in his ruling, according to the New York Times.
As Egypt awaited the verdict, hundreds of people gathered near the courthouse, which was surrounded by thousands of police. In the court, Mubarak remained silent while one of his sons, Alaa, quietly recited verses from the Koran, notes AP. There were reports of scuffles breaking out in the courtroom following the verdict, as many were unhappy with the various acquittal verdicts. "This trial is far, far from over," a lawyer for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights told al-Jazeera. Following his sentence, Mubarak was flown from the court by helicopter to serve his sentence in Torah prison in southern Cairo.
