Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life imprisonment today in Egyptian courts. The decision, which occasioned mass protests in Egypt has probably doomed former Egyptian air force commander Ahmed Shafiq's candidacy and given the presidency to the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Musri.
The 84-year-old Mubarak and former Interior Minister Habib El Adly were sentenced to life in prison, while six other government figures, including Mubarak's two sons were acquitted. The courtroom erupted after rage after the verdicts were announced, with violence erupting between spectators and security personnel and between different factions.
The mob - and it's pretty difficult to call them anything else - wasn't willing to settle for anything less than a public execution. Protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square erupted almost immediately after the verdict was announced. Other protests over the verdicts were reported in Suez, Alexandria and Mansoura.
The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi was quick to take advantage, telling reporters that he is the revolution's candidate and promised to 're-try' the criminals.
"In the near future, if I am chosen, I will directly initiate a criminal investigation to identify evidence against those who killed revolutionists, those who caused corruption and those who robbed the nation," he said. "I repeat, I am with the revolution and I will continue to be, even after I become president."
As for Mubarak, he immediately suffered another heart attack upon being sentenced and was transferred to a prison hospital in South Cairo. His condition is reported as stable, but I doubt that a life sentence is going to be a very long term affair for him.
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