Egypt

Former deputy PM rules out death sentence for Mubarak

Ousted leader Hosni Mubarak will not face the death penalty, but will also not be acquitted, former Deputy Prime Minister Yehia al-Gamal said Monday.

The ex-president's criminal trial is ongoing.

In an interview with CBC satellite channel, Gamal, a well-known legal expert, said the judges handling the trial will not be merciful to Mubarak, who Gamal said humiliated Egypt during his tenure.

Gamal, who served in the first post-Mubarak interim cabinet, did not elaborate on how he reached his prediction about the court verdict.

Mubarak, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and six former security officials face charges of ordering the killing of protesters during last January's uprising, which forced the end of his 30-year rule.

Over the past three sessions of the trial, the lead prosecutor has pushed for the death penalty for Mubarak and Adly.

Egypt's new constitution should be crafted through consensus, Gamal said. He said the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), which has won the most People's Assembly seats thus far, will be burdened with this major responsibility.

Gamal also ruled out that the coordinator of the Brotherhood-led Democratic Alliance, Wahid Abdel Meguid, may head the next parliament, noting that MP Mahmoud al-Khodeiry, a legal jurist, or any FJP member, has better chances.

There is no possibility of an alliance between the FJP and Salafi parties, who alarm the Brotherhood, Gamal said. He said the FJP might instead unite with the Wafd Party, Wasat Party or Egyptian Bloc.

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