CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court
on Saturday dismissed criminal charges against former president Hosni
Mubarak in connection with the killing of protesters in the 2011
uprising that ended his nearly three-decade reign.
Mubarak, 86, was also acquitted of corruption charges that he faced along with his sons Alaa and Gamal.
Mubarak was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2012, but the verdict was overturned on appeal the following year.
Saturday's
verdict concludes his retrial along with his two sons, his security
chief and six top security commanders, who were all acquitted. Also on
trial was businessman Hussein Salem, a longtime Mubarak friend tried in
absentia. He too was acquitted.
Nearly
900 protesters were killed in the 18-day uprising that ended when
Mubarak stepped down, handing over power to the military. The trial,
however, was concerned only with the killing of 239 protesters, whose
names were cited in the charges sheet.
Presiding
judge Mahmoud al-Rashidi made clear that the dismissal of the charges
did not absolve Mubarak of the "corruption" and "weakness" of the latter
years of his 29-year rule and praised the January 2011 uprising, saying
that its goals — freedom, bread and social justice — were justified.
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