One dead in Egypt clashes after dictator Mubarak cleared

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appears to high-five a supporter after the verdict. Photo / AP

Dropping of murder case against Mubarak sparks violence in Cairo.

One person has been killed in clashes between Egyptian police and protesters in central Cairo after a court dropped a murder case against ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak.

More than 1000 protesters had converged on Tahrir Square in Cairo after the verdict. Police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse them. The dead man had been shot, either with live ammunition or birdshot.

"He had been wounded in the clashes," a Health Ministry official said.

The court had thrown out murder charges against Mubarak and acquitted his police commanders of involvement in the deaths of protesters during the early 2011 revolt that unseated him.

Mubarak declared his innocence after the verdict.

"I did nothing wrong at all," he said in a telephone interview with the private Sada El Balad broadcaster from the military hospital where he is serving a three-year sentence for corruption.

The former Interior Minister Habib al Adly, and six aides, were also cleared of their roles in the suppression of an uprising that shook the foundations of Mubarak's regime.

Judge Mahmoud Rashidi had earlier acquitted Mubarak, 86, and his sons Alaa and Gamal, who are in their fifties, of separate embezzlement charges. The brothers jubilantly embraced across the courtroom cage when the session ended. As their father lay back on his hospital stretcher, a smile crept briefly across his face. As Mubarak, who has suffered a string of reported health problems, left the heavily guarded Cairo court, photographers captured him seemingly high-fiving a supporter from his stretcher.

Rashidi offered no details for his reasoning, insisting Egyptians read a 240-page summary of his panel's 1430-page explanation of the case. The file appeared to show investigators had given short shrift to the testimonies of injured witnesses, privileging the testimony of security officials instead. Because of his pre-existing corruption charge, Mubarak will not walk free as a result of yesterday's acquittals, but the verdict underscores the extent to which the dictator has been rehabilitated in the eyes of the Egyptian state and its public.

Back in 2012, Egypt's "trial of the century" lit the touchpaper of public anger, bringing protesters on to the streets. But the process has been drawn out, featuring a trial, and a re-trial, and attention has waned. Public opinion of Mubarak has also softened as Egypt has faced repeated economic and security crises since his overthrow.

"The [state] has protected the regime, not the revolution - those who were poor are now poorer," said Yasser Abdul Alaa Al Said, whose brother, Ghareeb, died in the early days of the uprising. "My brother died in vain for his dreams."

- additional reporting AFP