Mubarak to face trial for deaths of protesters

Mubarak and his sons,if convicted of the most serious charges against them,could face the death penalty. Such a sentence would then have to be approved on religious grounds by Ali Gomaa,the grand mufti of Egypt,who was appointed by Mubarak.

The announcement fulfilled an important demand of protesters who had called for large-scale demonstrations in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square later this week in favour of a trial and against the country’s emergency law,which remains in effect despite widespread opposition.

Mubarak,along with his sons,Gamal and Alaa,will face charges including “intentional murder,attempted killing of some demonstrators” and “misuse of influence and deliberately wasting public funds and unlawfully making private financial gains and profits,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement,according to The Associated Press. The Egyptian Health Ministry has said that more than 800 people were killed during the uprising.

The three have been held in police custody since April,facing questions about corruption and abuse of power during Mubarak’s three-decade rule. The sons were immediately jailed in Cairo’s Tora Prison,while Mubarak,83,was in police custody at a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm-el-Sheik after a heart attack. He is awaiting transfer to the prison.

The decision to charge Mubarak and members of his family with a capital crime is likely only to stiffen the resolve of those autocratic leaders,like Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen and Bashar al-Assad of Syria,who have already decided that it is better to use violence to cling to power than to abdicate and face public humiliation and trial.