Mubarak TV claims may lead to retrial
Ex-president watched revolution live from palace, panel says
CAIRO • Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak watched the uprising against him unfold through a live TV feed to his palace, despite his later denial that he knew the extent of the protests and crackdown against them, a member of a factfinding mission said Wednesday. The finding could lead to the retrial of the 84-yearold ousted president, already serving a life sentence.
In questioning for his trial for the deaths of some 900 protesters during the uprising, Mubarak said he was kept in the dark by top aides as to the gravity of the situation and fended off charges that he ordered or knew of the deadly force used against the protesters.
Mubarak was convicted in June of failing to prevent the deaths. But many Egyptians were angered that he was not convicted for ordering or having a direct role in the crackdown.
Ahmed Ragheb, a rights lawyer and a member of the commission, said state TV had designated a coded satellite TV station that fed live material from cameras installed in Tahrir and surrounding areas directly to Mubarak’s Palace throughout the 18-days of the uprising.
“Mubarak knew of all the crimes that took place directly. The images were carried to him live, and he didn’t even need security reports,” Ragheb told The Associated Press. “This entails a legal responsibility” in the violence against the protesters, including the infamous Camel Battle, where men on horses and camel and other Mubarak supporters stormed the square trying to drive protesters out.
At least 11 people were killed in that attack.
The finding came in a 700-page report on protester deaths the past two years, submitted Wednesday to President Mohammed Morsi. Morsi had formed this commission soon after he came to office in June, having promised during his election campaign that he would order new retrials for former regime officials if new evidence were revealed.
The commission also found that security forces and the military used live ammunition in crackdowns on protesters during the 18-day uprising against Mubarak and during the 17 months of rule by the military that followed his Feb. 11, 2011 fall, Ragheb said. The military repeatedly denied it used live ammunition against protesters, despite several deaths caused by bullets and pellets.
Ragheb told Al-Masry AlYoum daily that the report recommends summoning hundreds implicated in the killings of protesters.
Morsi on Wednesday asked the commission to hand its report to the general prosecutor to investigate its contents to determine what should be done, according to a statement by his office.