The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has the right to pardon former President Hosni Mubarak in accordance with the Penal Code, said a judicial source on Tuesday. However, according to several judges interviewed by Al-Masry Al-Youm, Mubarak cannot be pardoned before being tried and found guilty of whatever charges he is facing. Former Head of Cairo's Criminal Court Chancellor Rifaat al-Sayed said that an amnesty can only be awarded for a crime of which someone has been convicted and for which sentence has been passed by a competent court. Sayed went on to say that the country's ruler has the right to grant amnesty and that since the SCAF is now Egypt's ruler, it has the right to pardon a crime in its entirety, partially, or to reduce the sentence. Sayed added that Mubarak must be brought to trial and convicted before he can be pardoned. However, he pointed to the possibility of a pre-sentencing pardon, provided the legislative authority passes a law that deems the acts committed by Mubarak to be non-criminal in accordance with the Amnesty Act. However, Sayed said that such an act was unlikely because of the nature of the crimes Mubarak is being charged with, such as the killing of protesters and the looting of state funds. Granting amnesty for such crimes would identify them as non-criminal in nature, regardless of who committed them and under what circumstances. Al-Sayed added that bringing Mubarak to trial was inevitable in either case. Meanwhile, Vice President of the Court of Cassation Ahmed Mekki said that an amnesty cannot be granted for Mubarak's crimes until he has been tried. He explained that amnesty does not abolish any trace of the sentence, such as having to the money or the payment of compensation to those who deserve it. For his part, former Deputy President of the Court of Cassation Mahmoud al-Khudairy, agreed with Mekki that Mubarak cannot be granted amnesty until tried and convicted. On Tuesday, local news reports indicated that Mubarak is in the process of preparing an audio message for broadcast on a number of satellite television stations in which he will offer his apology to the Egyptian people and ask for amnesty for any mistakes committed. Translated from the Arabic Edition
