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(Image Source: Al Jazeera)
BY JOHN O’CONNOR ANCHOR ZACH TOOMBS
Egypt’s top court
has overturned the conviction of ousted former president Hosni Mubarak. CNN reports Mubarak
has won an appeal on charges tied to the killing of peaceful demonstrators during the 2011
Egyptian revolution.
“A court last June found Mubarak and his interior minister
for the murders by government security forces. Both were sentenced to life in prison. The
retrial will be based on the same evidence.”
According to Businessweek, Mubarak was
convicted to a life sentence for his involvement in the military police’s killings of more
than 850 peaceful protesters calling for him to step down.
The New York Times
reports a ruling to overturn the court’s verdict was expected ever since the conviction
was handed down last summer.
“The judge who handed down the verdict said at the time
that he was convicting Mr. Mubarak on the principle of presidential responsibility even
though he had seen no evidence that Mr. Mubarak had personally ordered or directed the killings.”
But
a correspondent for the BBC says Mubarak’s team of lawyers weren’t the only ones to
file for appeal.
“There was also an appeal from the public prosecutor, and actually
they want much harsher sentences and they want more convictions on more charges. So
both of those appeals have actually been accepted.”
According to Al Jazeera, current President Mohamed Morsi,
who campaigned on a pledge to seek harsher sentencing for Mubarak, says authorities have
detailed a new report which will provide the prosecution a stronger case against Mubarak
during the retrial.
“A new fact-finding committee commissioned by President Mohamed
Morsi says there is new evidence against Mubarak and his aides. Much of what is to come will
depend on the contents of this new report, the details of which are yet to be made public.”
The
Washington Post says the retrial decision is unlikely to produce much public outcry
in Egypt as the former dictator will not be let free from prison due to further cases
pending against him.