Hundreds of Egyptians occupied Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Sunday after a night of rage as the state prosecutor said he would appeal sentences handed down to Hosni Mubarak and his security chiefs. A judge sentenced Mubarak, 84, and his interior minister Habib al-Adly to life in prison on Saturday for involvement in the killing of hundreds of protesters during the uprising that ousted them from power last year. Mubarak, the only autocrat toppled in the Arab Spring to be put in the dock, could have been sent to the gallows as demanded by the prosecution. He was also cleared of graft charges. Six police chiefs were acquitted, and Mubarak’s sons Alaa and Gamal had corruption charges against them dropped on a technicality, prompting protesters to take to the streets in Cairo, Alexandria and other Egyptian cities. The state prosecutor’s office said he had ordered “the start of the appeals procedure” against sentences in the trial, but did not clarify whether it would appeal all the verdicts or just the acquittals. The prosecution had asked for the death sentence against the ousted president and his security aides, but it has received much criticism over its preparations for the case. Mubarak’s defence has also said it would appeal. Both the toppled dictator’s defence team and lawyers representing his victims said the life sentence verdict could easily be appealed, triggering fears among protesters that he could be ruled innocent. Around 20,000 people took to Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square on Saturday after the verdicts were issued. Some of the demonstrators slept in tents or out in the open overnight on the vast intersection, epicentre of the 18-day revolt that forced Mubarak to resign on February 11 last year. “We intend to stay today and possibly tomorrow. We expect a lot more people to come during the day,” said Omar Abdelkader, a young protester in Tahrir on Sunday. “Many people had the feeling while listening to the verdict that we were back in the days of the old regime,” said student Feda Essam, another protester in the square. The demonstrators erected a memorial depicting a miniature cemetery made of gravestones and sand in tribute to the “martyrs” of the revolution. “Martyrs, we will not abandon you to the conspiracies of the old regime. In the name of your blood, there will be a new revolution,” said a banner. Egyptian stocks dropped 2.4 percent within half an hour of opening with the main EGX-30 index sliding to 4574.17 points. “The street’s lack of acceptance of the verdicts has cast a shadow over the Egyptian stock exchange, with individual investors selling,” said financial analyst Walid Abdeen. Early on Sunday, offices of presidential candidate Ahmad Shafiq, Mubarak’s last prime minister, were attacked in two provincial towns, a security services official said.
