Egypt: Hosni Mubarak gets life imprisonment

Cairo: Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak has been found guilty of conspiracy in the killing of protesters during last year's uprising and has been given life imprisonment.

Mubarak, who was ferried to court on a stretcher by helicopter from hospital, was silent as Judge Ahmed Refaat handed down the life sentence to the 84-year-old former leader.

Egypt: Hosni Mubarak gets life imprisonment
Crowd outside the court shouted as they watched the court proceedings live on a giant screen.

Judge Ahmed Refaat also praised martyrs in Tahrir Square and said the court’s objective was to show the truth. Reports say that 60,000 pages of evidence were given. The judge further described the trial as a fair one.

Mubarak (84), along with former interior minister Habib al-Adly and six others, was on trial for ordering the deaths of some of the estimated 850 people.

The case also includes former president's sons, Alaa and Gamal. They are accused of killing peaceful protesters and wasting public funds.

The Interior Ministry had taken special measures to secure the premises of the court, where the trial took place.

Egypt: Hosni Mubarak gets life imprisonment
The wall around the police academy in New Cairo, a satellite city around the capital, had already been raised to four metres in addition to another metre of barbed wire.

The court also refused to issue any new permits to cover the trial and kept the coverage exclusive for state-owned TV. The trial was broadcast live to the world.