11:08 Here are some more Twitter reactions:
Sultan Al Qassemi tweets: "Egypt's next president will have the authority to pardon Husni Mubarak (if the verdict remains in a court of appeal)"
Hossam Bahgat, mocks the court, tweeting: "The court: who killed the protesters?" (translated from the Arabic)
ayman farag tweets: "So Mubarak's only crimes during his reign were committed at the end of his 30-year rule? And his sons stole the goods too long ago?"
11:01 According Egyptian daily newspaper Al-Shorouk, a group of Mubarak supporters outside the court have been arrested by the CSF for discharging firearms into the air and smashing cars in opposition to the ruling.
11:00 Mubarak's chopper has left the Police Academy.
10:58 Clashes outside the courtroom have stopped. Several protesters have created a human shield between the anti-Mubaraks and the CSF.
10:55 Here's a quick taste of reactions from Twitter:
Mahmoud Salem tweets : "#Mubaraktrial All of the MOI officials are innnocent, Mubarak & his sons cleared of financial corruption charges. fun fun"
Gigi Ibrahim tweets: "Adly’s men out together with Gamal and Alaa under Shafiq is the nightmare of the revolution. Don’t tell me i’m panicking but this is BAD"\
Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center and fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, tweets: "This whole process is a reminder of everything that was lost during a horribly mismanaged transition" and adds "Initial, fleeting satisfaction, followed by disappointment, and then anger. The whole transition in a moment".
10:45 The protest inside the court room is growing more heated, as attendants of the session demand justice for the 'martyrs' of the revolution. Protesters are chanting, "The blood of martyrs will never die." They are also chanting against Mubarak-era minister and presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq.
10:33 The court room has turned into a scene of impassioned protest. Chants of "False, False, False" and "The people demand the removal of the regime."
A fight breaks out within the court room between pro and anti-Mubarak supporters.
10:32 After Judge Rifaat finishes the sentencing, those present in the court room are chating, "The people demand the cleansing of the judiciary."
10:26 [Corrected] Hosni Mubarak is acquitted on all graft charges. The ousted president's life sentence is for the first charge of failing to prevent the killing of protesters.
10:24 Gamal and Alaa Mubarak have been acquitted along with the six senior officers on trial.
10:23 Habib El-Adly has also received a life sentence.
10:21 It's a life sentence for Hosni Mubarak.
10:18 Yasmine Walli, Ahram Online's correspondent outside the Police Academy, describes the scene outside the courtroom:
I'm standing outside the Police Academy, where people are protesting with a very tangible rage. The scene is filled with families of the martyrs and anti-regime protesters. They are calling for justice, which they don’t see taking place.
"I expect Mubarak will be found innocent, the SCAF has stolen the revolution and won't bring any justice," Abdel-Kareem, 27, the brother of a martyr who lost his life on 28 January 2011 says. Protesters are holding big banners with martyrs' pictures and some are raising their shoes as a sign of protest. "Those responsible for killing my son should be killed," repeat many of the martyrs' families outside the courtroom.
10:15 The Twitter-verse is brimming with comments, many of which are laden with sarcasm. Here's one response to Mubarak's journey from helicopter to cage:
"We're dealing with a man here who wears sunglasses in an ambulance. Never underestimate him," tweets Tom Gara.
10:02 Rifaat calls out the names of the defendants, who all answer that they are present. The presiding judge then demands complete silence and says that if any voice is heard the session will be immediately be cancelled. He then proceeds, in a relatively long prologue to the trial, to slam Mubarak's regime, saying that January 25 Revolution ended thirty-years of darkness and tyranny. Judge Rifaat said that those who went out to protest against poverty and oppression were peaceful protesters, chanting "Peaceful" with empty stomachs.
Each defendant will be granted three minutes to defend themselves in front of the court.
9:58 Habib El-Adly, Gamal Mubarak, Alaa Mubarak and the ousted leader have just entered the cage. The session begins.
Along with the aforementioned figures, six of El-Adly's aides are also facing charges. They've also been ushered into the cage. Here's a rundown of who they are and what they're being charged:
Six other senior police officers, including four of Adly's former deputies are being charged. They are Hassan Abdel-Rahman, deputy interior minister and head of state security; Adly Fayed, deputy interior minister and head of general security; Ahmed Ramzi, head of the Central Security Forces; and Ismail El-Shaer, former director of security for Cairo.
The other two are interior ministry officials Osama El-Marassi and Omar Faramawi, both directors of security for the Greater Cairo provinces. Marassy and Faramawy are not charged with a role in killing protesters but face charges related to damage caused to Egyptian property and the economy as a result of their failure to anticipate the uprising and secure such property during the protests. Neither man was detained during the trial.
9:51 Judge Ahmed Rifaat and the rest of the panel have arrived. No word on their choice of apparel.
9:38 The ousted president, who is wearing a training suit with a biege top and black trousers and a pair of sunglasses, is wheeled in, lying on a stretcher and wheeled into the Police Academy. For those out there following Mubarak's past fashion picks, the ousted leader was last wheeled in wearing a blue training suit with light blue stripes...and sunglasses.
9:32 Mubarak's been staying at the International Medical Centre. According to a Reuters piece, it isn't exactly hard times for this jailbird:
"Hosni Mubarak has appeared in court lying on a stretcher during his trial, where he faces a verdict on Saturday, but Egypt's former president is living in a comfortable hospital where he is free to see relatives, walk in the garden and exercise, news reports and a source said this week.The newspaper depicted the 84-year-old Mubarak, ousted in an uprising in February 2011, as a cosseted retired official, exercising and swimming as doctors and family attend to his needs at Cairo's International Medical Center (IMC).
The account confirmed reports in other domestic newspapers in the past months that have shown Mubarak, who is formally under arrest, as far more healthy than he appears in the court room, where he lies on his back on a stretcher.
Mubarak occupies a large suite with adjacent rooms for visitors, a swimming pool and a gym outfitted with the latest exercise equipment, Al-Watan said in its report published on Tuesday. It said Mubarak had been visited by Arab leaders of Gulf countries of Kuwait, Oman and the UAE. "Mubarak is in excellent health. The former president will likely remain with us even after the verdict comes out," the hospital source, who has seen the former leader, told Reuters.
The source said Mubarak was free to walk around the garden or swim in a pool, and had a team of doctors including a physiotherapist. Mubarak also received visitors from the Arab world and the ruling military council."This is the best place for him. There is a plane and an airstrip at the hospital to allow for safe movement," the source added."
9:31 Outside the academy, the sun's sweltering heat is forcing some protesters to take refuge in the shade. A group of activists are holding posters of martyr Khaled Said, who was killed by Mubarak's forces in June 2010. The brutal nature of Said's death and the gruesome images of his corpse stoked mounting rage that erupted into countrywide protests on 25 January.
9:30 Mubarak's helicopter has just landed.
9:10 Karima Akra, one of the protesters at the Police Academy told Ahram Online that he showed up today to support the martyrs of the revolution. However, he doesn't think that Mubarak will receive a heavy sentence. Rather he will get a symbolic one while Habib El-Adly gets the toughest sentencing.
Kamal Mohamed, whose son Fares died on 29 January, during the uprising, said that he doesn't know what to expect today, but suspects that the trial may be postponed again. He said that he is not happy with the way the judiciary procedures have been conducted. However, he said that if Mubarak doesn't get the sentence he deserves, people will vote for the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Mursi, because they don't have faith in Mubarak era minister Ahmed Shafiq.
In an interview with the sister of the martyr Ehab, who died on 28 January 2011, "I believe there is no justice; if Mubarak was not the president, he would have been executed long time ago," Nahayat Mohamed, 14, told Ahram Online. Nahayat is planning to boycott the presidential elections run offs.
The families of the martyrs and victims outside the police academy waiting for the trial have set a ladder in the area on fire. The ladder is the symbol of presidential candidate and former PM Ahmed Shafiq in the Egyptian presidential elections.
8:55 A handful of pro-Mubaraks have arrived at the police academy. They are holding banners with "Hosni Mubarak is a legend" and "The most honourable Egyptian is Mubarak." They are also chanting "Tell the poor people, the Egyptian revolution was a hoax" and "Acquittal, acquittal."
8:30 Good morning. It's all talk of Mubarak and the trial this Saturday morning, as the ousted strongman, who governed Egypt for 30 years before a popular uprising toppled him last year, will hear a verdict today on whether he is guilty of corruption and complicity in the killing of protesters. Mubarak has not yet arrived at the court.
Thus far, Mubarak's two sons, Gamal and Alaa, have arrived at the Police Academy's criminal court to hear the verdict of their trial. The two are being tried along with former minister of interior Habib El-Adly and six of his aides as well as Mubarak.
The ousted leader has been held in the International Medical Centre since the trial began last August. He is expected to be flown to the academy within an hour.
Today's historic trial sees Mubarak face two separate charges: the first, for ordering the killing of protesters. Former minister of interior Habib El-Adly and six of his aides are also charged for the same crime.
Mubarak and his two sons are further charged for taking bribes from fugitive Egyptian businessman Hussein Salem.
Yasmine Walli, Ahram Online's reporter at the scene, says that there are hundreds of army and Central Security Forces (CSF) securing the court. Several tanks are also positioned in front of the court. Protesters, who arrived early in front of the court, have been chanting against Mubarak, calling for justice for the martyrs of the revolution and demanding the execution of Mubarak.
Anti-Mubarak groups are also holding posters of some of the demonstrators, who died during the 18-day uprising in January 2011.
Pro-Mubarak groups, which are usually present during the sessions of Mubarak's trial have not showed up yet.
