Egypt prosecutor demands death sentence for Mubarak
CAIRO - Agence France-Presse
REUTERS photo
A prosecutor in Hosni Mubarak's trial today demanded the death sentence for the fallen Egyptian dictator, arguing that he had ordered the killings of anti-regime demonstrators."The law foresees the death penalty for premeditated murder," prosecutor Mustafa Khater told the court during the trial of the former president, who was toppled in a popular uprising in February.
In wrapping up the three-day case, chief prosecutor Mustafa Suleiman said for his part that "the president of the republic is responsible for protecting the people, and the question is not simply one of whether he ordered the killing of protesters, but to know why he did not intervene to stop the violence.
"How could the president of the republic not be aware of the demonstrations that broke out on Jan. 25 in 12 places in several governorates," Suleiman added, rejecting claims that Mubarak was not informed of the seriousness of the situation.
He also argued that then interior minister Habib el-Adli, who is also on trial, could "not have given the order to fire on demonstrators without having been instructed to do so by Mubarak."
