CAIRO — Egypt’s deposed leader Hosni Mubarak and his two sons were sentenced Saturday to three years in prison and a fine in a retrial on corruption charges they faced earlier. It wasn’t immediately clear whether it will include time he’s already served since his country’s 2011 revolt.
The corruption case — dubbed by the Egyptian media as the “presidential palaces” affair — concerns charges that Mubarak and his two sons embezzled millions of dollars’ worth of state funds over the course of a decade. The funds were meant to pay for renovating and maintaining presidential palaces but were instead allegedly spent on upgrading the family’s private residences.
Mubarak was sentenced to three years, his sons to four in the case. He later appealed, sparking the retrial.
Supporters shouted in anger as Judge Hassan Hassanin announced his verdict. A lawyer for Mubarak said the judge’s decision can be appealed.
Some of those backing Mubarak wore T-shirts emblazoned with the former leader’s face. They waved and blew kisses as the 87-year-old autocrat entered the courtroom.
The hearing, at a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo, took place in the same courtroom where ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was sentenced to 20 years in prison last month.