Mubarak sentenced to life in jail

  Egypt's ex-president Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life imprisonment on Saturday, the Cairo Criminal Court said.
Presiding Judge Ahmed Refaat announced that after 49 times of trial, the Cairo Criminal Court decided to sentence Mubarak and former interior minister Habib Adli to life terms for charges of killing protesters in the massive demonstration last year.
Adli's six assistants were acquitted, said Refaat.
"The communications among the defendants during the revolution for the order of killing protesters weren't proved, some evidences were corrupted before reaching the hands of the court," Refaat said.
The presiding judge made a brief speech before announcing the verdict, reminding people of the uprising that had ousted the corrupted regime and defended protestors who called for basic human rights.
The demonstrators called for a place to shelter after they lived in slums drinking dirty water, and a job to afford their family, Refaat added.
The uprising that toppled those who made Egypt live in darkness without hope or aspiration was peaceful, and it turned the country to the bright side, he noted.
Egypt's General Prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud decided last Saturday to transfer Mubarak from the International Medical Center on Cairo-Ismailia road, where he spent the whole period of imprisonment since the trial started in last August, to the Torah prison.
Charges of corruption and exploiting public money against Mubarak's sons, Alaa and Gamal, and fugitive businessman Hussein Salem were dropped due to the expiry of a statute of limitations.
Mubarak and his sons were charged of purchasing villas owned by Hussein Salem at very low prices against offering him facilities to possess huge pieces of land in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el- Sheikh.
Also, Mubarak was acquitted in one of the cases related to using his power to achieve gains.
After the verdict, Mubarak was transferred by plane to Torah prison to serve his life sentence. His health reportedly worsened after a few minutes of his arrival. His two sons, Adli and the former interior minister's six aids were moved on another helicopter to the same prison as a precautious measure.
Clashes erupted between lawyers and families of those killed in the demonstration after the verdict in the courtroom, leaving some injuries.
The families of victims chanted "people want the judiciary cleansed," describing the verdict as "void, void." Security forces deployed in the court calmed the clashes and managed to regain order.
In front of the court, some Egyptians fired fireworks, singing and dancing in an expression of their excitement for a fair verdict, while others wished to sentence Mubarak and his aids to death.
Mubarak's supporters threw rocks at riot police standing guard outside the court and were chased by security forces.
Some of martyrs' families flocked Tahrir Square to protest on the verdict and express their dissatisfaction. They also called for executing the defendants.
"Acquitting the seniors of Adli is out of expectations," said Ahmad Khalil, 28, who was among those waiting outside the court.
In Suez, feelings of angry overwhelmed the families of the murdered protestors. Karim Essam, 56, whose son was killed in the early days of the uprising, said that "The trial acquitted the interior ministry's senior officials and sons of Mubarak so they can go out and resume their crimes."
Sairah Murad, a 37-year-old physician who had received injured protesters in a governmental hospital during the unrest, said that "Mubarak was not the problem. He is going to die anyway. But how couldn't the court proved his sons are guilty in the killings acts? "
Arafat Amin, secretary general of Al-Karamah party in Sinia, told Xinhua," I think the verdict is fair, it touched the head of the snake, Adli's assistants were just taking orders from their chief."
Emad Al-bake, a political activist, condemned the court decision, saying "the six senior officials didn't deserve to be acquitted."
Akram Hossam, a political researcher in the Middle East Center for political studies, said "the verdict is more than my expectations. I expected for Mubarak less years." "I think both Mubarak and Adli will appeal on the verdict, and their sentence will be mitigated," added Hossam.
According to the state TV, the defendants could appeal on the verdict in 60 days after its announcement.