Post date: Jan 13, 2013 11:52:27 AM
An Egyptian court accepts an appeal by ousted former president Hosni Mubarak, allowing him to be retried over the killings of protesters in the 2011 uprising.
CAIRO, EGYPT (JANUARY 13, 2013) (REUTERS) - An Egyptian court accepted an appeal by ousted former president Hosni Mubarak and his former interior minister on Sunday (January 13), allowing him to be retried over the killings of protesters in the 2011 uprising.
Mubarak and former interior minister Habib al-Adli were sentenced to life in prison in June last year in a court ruling that held them responsible for the deaths of protesters killed by security forces trying to quell the uprising."The court has ruled to accept the appeal filed by the defendants," Judge Ahmed Ali Abdel Rahman said.
Crowds of Mubarak supporters attending the trial cheered.
"There was nothing to prove that he killed the protesters, it was just the fact that he did not protect the protesters, nothing more, but he did not kill the protesters. There's a difference between killing and negligence. Would an employee in a company be fired just for being careless?" said one of Mubarak's supporters, who gave her name as Boussy.
The 84-year-old former leader was moved from prison to a military hospital in late December after breaking ribs in a fall.
The court has also ordered a retrial of al-Adli's aides.