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Still less will it deal with the legacy of an autocratic ruler who ran a police state that rode roughshod over human rights for 30 years until popular frustration exploded.
“Justice will not be achieved,” said Ahmed el-Fekky, who was blinded in his left eye during the protests against Mubarak.
The verdict promised by Judge Ahmed Refaat more than three months after he closed the trial on 22 February is keenly awaited, not least because of its timing, bang in between two rounds of Egypt’s first truly contested presidential election.
If Mubarak (84), is convicted, he could face anything from three years in jail to the death penalty. Few expect the ex-air force chief to hang, given his age and the perceived weakness of the prosecution case. Appeals could prolong the case for years.
An acquittal or a light sentence could ignite a furious reaction on the streets from Egyptians already disappointed that their “revolution” has yet to bring much real change.
Many of those who took to the streets are frustrated that reform has yet to touch the army, the hated police force, the judiciary and much else of the system that propped up his rule. Acquittals of low-ranking officers accused of shooting protesters have raised fear that no one will be brought to book.
In the run-off vote for the presidency on June 16-17 they must choose between Ahmed Shafiq, an ex-military man and Mubarak ally, and Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, which struggled for decades against a state that mostly repressed it.
Any violence after the trial verdict could benefit Shafiq, who is running on a tough security platform. But as a symbol of the Mubarak era, he could also be hurt if an acquittal sparks broad popular anger at the military-dominated establishment.
The verdict on Mubarak, who is charged with corruption as well as complicity in the killings of protesters, could be postponed. On trial with him are former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli and six security officials, as well as his two sons Alaa and Gamal, and businessman Hussein Salem, who has fled Egypt.
Mubarak is the first Arab ruler to be brought to court by his own people. Tunisia’s ex-president was tried in absentia.
But a chance to set a precedent of accountability in the most populous Arab nation may go begging, rights groups say. “There has been no serious effort to investigate and hold accountable officials for deaths in custody, unlawful detention, torture and other systematic human rights abuses during the Mubarak era,” Human Rights Watch said in a report on the trial.
The New York-based group said this “compromises the current government’s reputation and sheds doubts on its commitment to uphold Egypt’s human rights obligations and the rule of law”.
Mubarak and his co-defendants are being tried in an ordinary court, but more than 12 000 civilians have faced military courts since the army deployed across Egypt on 28 January, 2011.
The charges related to rights abuses cover only a six-day period from the start of the revolt on 25 January, 2011.
“The last days of Mubarak’s power are not what the people want put on trial,” said Fikry Kharoub, the head of Alexandria’s Court of Appeals, who filed his own case accusing Mubarak of high treason and disloyalty to the state throughout his rule.
“Egyptians will not settle for anything less than a fair trial, for themselves and their revolution,” he told Reuters.
The former leader has been routinely wheeled on a hospital gurney into the cage used for defendants in Egyptian courts. He has said almost nothing at his trial appearances beyond confirming his presence and denying the charges against him. — Rtrs
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