Ahmed Mekky, former VP of Egypt's Court of Appeal, calls Mubarak/El-Adly trial 'meaningless and contradictory,' says verdicts imply police never used violence against protesters during last year's uprising Judge Ahmed Mekky, former vice-president of Egypt's Court of Appeal, confirmed on Saturday that the court verdict exonerating former interior minister Habib El-Adly's six assistants implied that police had not used violence against unarmed anti-regime protestors at the height of last year's Tahrir Square uprising. Mekky told Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news website that the controversial verdict meant that ousted president Hosni Mubarak and El-Adly – along with an unknown third party – had taken part in the killing of protestors, and that Mubarak was the one who had ordered them to do so. Mekky went on to point out that the court had failed to reveal the identity of the "third party." Mekky added that it was impossible to describe judicial authorities in third world countries as "independent," due to the "very tough" circumstances they faced. He also explained that Saturday's verdicts could be appealed by either the defendants or the public prosecutor but not by the families of slain protesters who had initially filed the charges, since the case had been transferred to a civil court for adjudication. Mubarak and El-Adly both received life sentences on Saturday for failing to prevent the killing of unarmed protesters, while Mubarak's two sons – Gamal and Alaa – were both found not guilty. The ousted president, meanwhile, was acquitted of all graft charges. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/43560.aspx
