The historic trial of toppled President Hosni Mubarak is set to wrap up today when the presiding judge, Ahmed Refaat, hands down a verdict. The trial began in August 2011 and was adjourned on 22 February when Refaat declared that a verdict will be pronounced on 2 June. The former president could face a variety of punishments, up to the death penalty, for charges of conspring to kill protesters during the uprising in January and February 2011. His former Minister of Interior Habib al-Adly faces the same charges in the same trial. Mubarak, along with his sons Gamal and Alaa, are also charged with corruption for involvement in selling state land at below-market prices. The trial is being held at the Police Academy in the Fifth Settlement on the eastern outskirts of Cairo.
12:25 pm: Although they were acquitted on corruption charges in the verdict announced Saturday morning, Gamal and Alaa Mubarak are taken back to Tora prison, where they will await trial on separate charges for insider trading.
12:00 pm: After the public prosecutor orders Hosni Mubarak sent to the maximum security Tora prison complex, state TV reports that a helicopter carrying the former president has arrived there.
Mubarak's lead defense lawyer, Farid al-Deeb, says he is appealing the verdict and will take it to the Court of Cassation. Deeb says there were errors in the judge's justification for the verdict.
11:00 am: Reactions outside of the courtroom are mixed. Some families of the martyrs are happy, chanting, "We got our retribution!" Others, however, are demanding execution for the former president and Adly. Sanaa Saeed, whose son Moez al-Sayed was shot in Tahrir Square, cries. "[Mubarak] has to die just like my son did. We need execution. They will let him escape. There is no justice in this country."
Mostafa Mohamed Morsy, whose son Mohamed was killed during the uprising, says there will be another revolution until Mubarak is executed. "They are fooling us," he says.
Mona Gaber, mother of the martyr Mohamed Mostafa, says, "We need execution. They will let him out after five years. I don't want him alive."
10:40 am: Outside of the courtroom, a fight has broken out between families of the martyrs and Central Security Forces. The origins of the fight are not clear.
10:30 am: Lawyers representing the families of the martyrs explode in protest inside the courtroom, angry that former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly's deputies have escaped conviction. They chant: "The people demand the purging of the judiciary!" and "Illegitimate!" A fight breaks out in the courtroom.
10:25 am: Mubarak and Adly are sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiring to kill protesters, the maximum possible sentence under Egyptian law.
Adly's deputies have all been acquitted. They are: former First Assistant Interior Minister for the Central Security Forces Sector Major General Ahmed Mohamed Ramzy Abdel Rashid; former First Assistant Interior Minister for Public Security Major General Adly Mostafa Fayed; former First Assistant Interior Minister for the State Security Agency Major General Hassan Abdel Rahman; former head of Cairo Security Directorate Major General Ismael al-Shaer; former head of Giza Security Directorate Major General Osama al-Marassy; former head of 6th of October Security Directorate Major General Omar al-Farmawy.
The former president and his two sons are also acquitted of all financial crimes because 10 years have passed since the alleged crimes were committed.
10:15 am: After his impassioned opening remarks, the judge assures that his decision is based on fair consideration. He says the court held 49 sessions, deliberated for 250 hours and reviewed 60,000 pages of evidence.
10:05 am: Judge Refaat reads out his opening statement. After assuring that he has studied the evidence closely, he praises the 25 January revolution, saying it was a new dawn for Egypt that ended 30 years of darkness. He goes on to detail the shortcomings of the Mubarak regime, in particular failing to meet the economic demands of Egyptians. He then praises the protesters who took to the streets.
10:00 am: Judge Refaat begins the session, demanding silence. He threatens to close the session if there are disruptions.
9:58 am: Mubarak and the other defendants have arrived in the defendants' cage. As was typical throughout his trial, the former president is lying on a stretcher and wearing black sunglasses. Recent reports in local and international media have cited officials at the hospital where Mubarak is being held as saying that the former president is in good health.
9:50 am: Relatives of the martyrs killed during the 18-day uprising are holding up pictures of the deceased inside the courtroom. The families are filing a civil claim against Mubarak and the other defendants in a parallel legal proceeding.
9:30 am: The helicopter carrying the former president arrives at the Police Academy. Adly, Gamal, Alaa and the other defendants are already in the courtroom, where they will be kept behind bars during the sentencing.
9:20 am: Judge Refaat enters the courtroom. The former president, who will be transported to the court by helicopter, has not yet arrived.
9:00 am: The session is set to start momentarily. Heavy security is deployed outside the Police Academy. Relatives of those killed during the revolution have gathered outside, anxiously awaiting a verdict.
