Egypt`s Hosni Mubarak’s retrial set to begin April 13

Zeenews Bureau Cairo: Ousted former president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak is set to undergo retrial beginning April 13, reports said. Mubarak is convicted of failing to prevent the killing of hundreds of protesters during the Egypt uprising of 2011 that toppled his regime. Around 850 people were killed in the 18-day uprising that overthrew Mubarak in February. –

Mubarak and his former interior minister were sentenced to life in prison in June. But a Cairo court this January granted Hosni Mubarak’s appeal, ordering a retrial. Mubarak’s defense lawyers had argued that the former president did not know of the killings or realized the extent of the street protests, but an Egyptian fact-finding mission has recently determined that he watched the uprising against him unfold through a live TV feed at his palace. The mission’s report could hold both political opportunities and dangers for Mubarak’s successor, President Mohammed Mursi of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood. A new Mubarak trial would be popular, since many Egyptians were angered he was convicted for failing to stop the killings, rather than ordering the crackdown. But the report also implicates the military and security officials in the protesters’ deaths. Any move to prosecute them could spark a backlash from the powerful police and others who still hold positions under Mursi’s Islamist government at a time when the nation’s new leader is struggling to assert his authority over a nation mired in turmoil. A news agency said that six security officials will also be tried. Mubarak`s two sons and a business associate will be retried on corruption charges. Mubarak’s sons, one-time heir apparent Gamal and businessman Alaa, are in prison while on being tried for alleged insider trading and using their influence to buy state land at a fraction of its market price. With Agency Inputs