Egypt court acquits Mubarak, aides in killing of protesters

An Egyptian court Saturday announced that ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his top aides were not guilty in the killing of protesters in the January 2011 revolution.

The trial of Mubarak is under way in Cairo criminal court, where he along with former interior minister Habib El-Adly and six of his aides are facing charges of involvement in the death of protesters during the January 2011 uprising which unseated him from 30 years of rule, Al Ahram reported.

Mubarak and his co-defendants were found guilty in June 2012 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The initial verdict was appealed successfully and a retrial began in April 2013.

Mubarak, his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, as well as Adly arrived in court earlier in the day.

Alaa and Gamal are also defendants in the trial, but are only facing charges of corruption.

The 86-year-old former president is now serving a separate three-year prison term for embezzlement of public funds.

He is serving the sentence at a military hospital on the southern outskirts of Cairo, where he has spent much of his detention.

In May 2011, El-Adly was also convicted of money laundering and profiteering, for which he received a 12-year jail sentence. - IANS