CAIRO – Egypt’s publicly reviled former interior minister has been jailed for 12 years, a step that sent a message that no one in the new Egypt is above the law.
Habib al-Adli, the first member of Hosni Mubarak’s cabinet to be sentenced and hated for the brutality of his police by the protesters who ousted Mubarak, led a powerful security apparatus and was once seen as untouchable.
Adli’s sentencing yesterday for profiteering and money laundering shows the generals now ruling Egypt are responding to public demands to hold Mubarak’s officials to account and end the abuse of power, analysts say.
The former interior minister faces graver charges of killing protesters as well as squandering public funds. A lawyer on the committee that charged him with murder has said he wants the death sentence.
More than 800 people died in the uprising after police moved against protesters who took to the streets on January 25th. Days later they lost control and were withdrawn. The army then moved in.
“This is just an appetiser. Twelve years for profiteering only gets us rolling. That is just for someone who abused his power for personal gains, let’s hold our breath when he falls for killing protesters,” Khaled Tawfeek said on a Facebook group.
Egyptians have been closely watching the fate of Adli, whose police crushed the smallest of protests for years and frequently rounded up Islamists without charge. Rights groups say torture was routine in jails under Adli.
The former interior minister has been held on the outskirts of Cairo with a former prime minister, other cabinet members, top officials and Mubarak’s two sons.
The former president is also under investigation for abuse of power, embezzlement and responsibility for the deaths of some protesters. He is being held in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.
At his trial Adli stood in court in a cage, where defendants traditionally stand – a scene unimaginable just three months ago.
“In the long history of Egypt, no minister of the interior . . . has ever been charged, tried and convicted,” said political scientist Mustapha al-Sayyid.
A source said Adli had received seven years for money laundering, with a further five years for profiteering. The state news agency put the value of fines and confiscated assets at €2.7 million.
Ordinary Egyptians accuse Adli of deliberately causing chaos during the revolt when thousands of prisoners walked out of prison and even traffic police left the streets. – (Reuters)