Prosecutor: Mubarak a “Brutal Pharaoh”

There were harsh words in court as Egypt's chief prosecutor made his first lengthy speech.

To begin the three-day case against Hosni Mubarak and a few others, chief prosecutor Mustafa Suleiman called the ousted Egyptian leader a corrupt tyrant. Though many in Egypt feared generals would go easy on their former president, Suleiman started the case more harshly than anticipated by declaring that Mubarak deserved to receive severe penalties and end in “humiliation” and “indignity.” He accused Mubarak of spending a decade trying to ensure his son would take over power and said the fall 2010 parliamentary elections were the most corrupt since the army seized power. Eighty-three-year-old Mubarak, who attended the proceeding on a gurney, has been charged with corruption and complicity in killing over 800 protestors. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.

Image courtesy of Reuters.