Russia on Saturday said it was concerned after Egyptian prosecutors demanded a death sentence for fallen dictator Hosni Mubarak, calling for humanitarian factors to be considered.
"Such announcements are heard in Moscow with concern,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
While saying that Russia respected the ongoing trial as an internal affair for Egypt, the ministry cited humanitarian factors which it said should be taken into account in Mubarak’s sentencing.
“We consider it possible to take into account humanitarian considerations in the case of Hosni Mubarak. After all we are talking about a very elderly person, who is 83, and who according to available information is seriously ill.
“What’s more, as a political figure, he last February took the decision to relinquish power, which was significant in preventing further deaths among innocent people,” the ministry said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in June last year called for a humane and fair outcome for Mubarak.
Mubarak is detained in a military hospital where he is being treated for a heart condition.
He is accused of ordering the killings of protestors during the revolt that ended with his overthrow. His two sons, Alaa and Gamal, are also on trial on separate corruption charges. They have all pleaded not guilty.
On Thursday, prosecutors called for Mubarak to be hanged, saying he bears full responsibility for the killing of protesters during the uprising against him, in a courtroom moment unthinkable only a year ago when Egypt's longtime leader held unquestioned power.
"Retribution is the solution. Any fair judge must issue a death sentence for these defendants," said Mostafa Khater, one of five prosecutors in the case.
"We feel the spirits of the martyrs flying over this hall of sacred justice, and those who lost their sight due to the bullets of the defendants are stumbling around it to reach the judge and demand fair retribution from those who attacked them," he said. "The nation and the people are awaiting a word of justice and righteousness."
On Friday, France said that it objects to the application of the death penalty for Mubarak.
A spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry said that Paris opposes the death penalty in general and in this context, “Egypt is no exception.”
