An Egyptian court drops its case against ousted president Hosni Mubarak on charges of ordering the killing of protesters in 2011. Rough cut (no reporter narration). Video provided by Reuters Newslook






Supporters hold a poster of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak as he was taken by a helicopter ambulance from Maadi Military Hospital to a court in Cairo on Nov. 29.(Photo: Amr Nabil, AP)




CAIRO — An Egyptian court dropped murder charges Saturday against former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, dealing a stunning blow to the uprising that ousted him in 2011.


Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for almost 30 years, faced charges linked to the deaths of hundreds of protesters during the 18-day revolt — known as the January 25 revolution — that ultimately pushed him from power.


Protesters gathered near Tahrir Square — the heart of the nation's 2011 uprising— to denounce the court's decision, state news agency MENA reported. By nightfall, the square remained blocked to traffic and protesters by security forces, which have been on high alert this week amid calls for anti-government protests.


"The people want to bring down the regime!" they shouted, using one of the chief slogans in the 18-day, anti-Mubarak uprising.




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The verdict was devastating for Egyptians like Ahmed Nage, 26, who was arrested and jailed for two weeks for participating in the 2011 protests. He said two of his friends were killed in the early days of the uprising.


"I feel like our revolution was Photoshopped — not real," he said. "Everything is unfair here in Egypt."


Although almost 900 people were killed in the unrest, which saw fierce battles between demonstrators and police, the trial was concerned specifically with 239 protesters' deaths.


Ahmed Hassan, a lawyer not involved in the case, said Egypt's judicial system is corrupt and doesn't care about human rights — a result shown in Saturday's ruling.


"We have to renew our revolution," Hassan said. "People fear that the old regime will come back again."




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Others, however, celebrated the verdict. People waved pictures of the former leader and chanted to show their support outside the courtroom where the verdict was issued, according to local media.


Still, the verdict underscores how much Egypt has changed since 2011, when eyes were glued to TV screens nationwide as the former leader first appeared in court that August. Many thought the nation would see justice for protesters' deaths as he appeared behind bars in a courtroom.


In June 2012, Mubarak — who spent most of his time in hospitals through the course of his imprisonment due to poor health — was sentenced to life in prison, but that verdict was overturned on appeal last year and a retrial was ordered. Mubarak's sons, seven security officials and a wealthy businessman were also acquitted in the case, which has been ongoing since 2011.


In his ruling Saturday, Judge Mahmoud al-Rashidi cited the "inadmissibility" of the case against Mubarak due to a technicality. He said Mubarak's May 2011 referral to trial by prosecutors ignored the "implicit" decision that no criminal charges be filed against him when his security chief and six of his top aides were referred to trial by the same prosecutors two months earlier.


Prosecutors said they will appeal Saturday's verdict, meaning the case will be taken back to a court that will then decide whether or not due process was observed, said Hisham Kassem, a Cairo-based political analyst. If the court finds due process was observed, the verdict will hold. If not, the court will retry Mubarak and either acquit or sentence him, Kassem said.


In the meantime, it remains to be seen when Mubarak will walk free. While he was sentenced to three years in a separate case for corruption, he may have already served enough time depending on which months or years will be credited toward that sentence.


"It's still not clear," Kassem said. "There are people saying he should be released in a few days and others are saying he has another year."


Mubarak isn't the only former Egyptian president who has been jailed: The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi, who was elected president in 2012, was swept into prison last year after also being ousted.


Since Morsi's overthrow, military-backed authorities have been in charge, carrying out a widespread crackdown on political opposition.


Contributing: The Associated Press



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