Hosni Mubarak is Such an A**hole.

I know that hardly counts as news. However almost 18 months after he was deposed by the Egyptian revolution ex-President Hosni Mubarak still seems to be harbouring a deep hatred for both Egypt and it's people.

On June 2nd 2012 (2/6/12) Mubarak and his Interior Minister Habib al-Aldi was found guilty of the murder of 846 protesters who were killed during the revolution. As Egypt has yet to write the constitution needed to reform it's legal system this trial was at it's best an example of how the old regime used to do things and at it's worst utterly shambolic. Although Mubarak and al-Aldi were convicted of murder they and two of Mubarak's sons were acquitted of corruption charges while other defendants including senior officers in the feared CSF riot squad were acquitted of all charges. The acquittal of the police officers in particular was apparently due to the Mubarak-era prosecutor's failure to force the police to release files that many believe would have proved the police officer's guilt. This coupled with the fact that Mubarak was only sentenced to life in prison rather then death which for a President who liberally used capital punishment during his reign seems lenient has led to many Egyptians to accuse the country's interim military rulers of trying to roll back the revolution by protecting Mubarak's old guard.

Ahead of Saturday and Sunday's (16-17/6/12) Presidential run-off vote between the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsy and Mubarak's former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik the Brotherhood have leapt on the trial issue and are trying to use it portray themselves as the guardians of the revolution. I think this is nothing more then the worst sort of political opportunism. Although the Brotherhood did play a crucial role in the revolution and are only Islamic extremists so far as the US Republican Party are Christian extremists the Saudi fuelled Sunni V Shia sectarianism that the conflict in Syria has caused across the region has pushed the Brotherhood so far towards the Salafists that they now pose a very serious threat to democracy in Egypt. Besides during the revolution I seem to remember that there was another highly organised group protecting the protesters in Tahrir Square from Mubarak's thugs with their tanks.

For his part Hosni Mubarak is now claiming to be suffering from a very conveniently timed bout of ill health and is trying to use this to serve his sentence in a comfortable private hospital rather then a Mubarak-era prison. If this does happen it will only strengthen the main thrust of the Muslim Brotherhood's campaign claim that nothing has changed and Egypt's old guard - which they claim Shafik is part of part of - are still just looking out for themselves. So apart from getting away with his crimes Mubarak also seems to be actively campaigning for the Muslim Brotherhood. The idea seems to be that he can spite all the people - both inside and outside of Egypt - who called for him to step down by helping elect a President who will be much worse then him.

This is exactly the sort of politicisation of the judicial process that means I'm still convinced that Saif al-Islam Qaddafi should be tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC) rather then in the new Libya. As for Mubarak I can't help but think it would just have been easier to honour the promise that he's allowed a comfortable retirement provided he stepped down.