Thousands protest Mubarak verdict in Egypt, 1 killed

Cairo, Nov 30: At least one person was killed and nine others injured when police clashed with demonstrators who were protesting here to denounce an Egyptian court's verdict to drop a murder charge against ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

Over 3,000 protesters took to the streets and gathered near Tahrir Square yesterday evening, after Mubarak was acquitted of a murder charge by a court which found him not guilty in the killing of hundreds of unarmed protesters during the 2011 revolution that toppled the former strongman's nearly three decades-long regime.

Health Ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar confirmed that one protester died while nine others sustained injuries. The protesters held country's flag and chanted slogans against the verdict.

Police closed Tahrir square to prevent protesters from entering and fired water cannons, teargas and birdshot to disperse the crowd, media outlets reported.

In a dramatic reversal of fortune, Judge Mahmud Kamel al-Rashidi yesterday overturned the life sentence Mubarak received in June 2012, which means he will face no punishment for allegedly sanctioning the murder of 846 protesters during Egypt's 2011 uprising or for allegedly profiting from the export of gas at below-market rates.

PTI