Prosecution seeks death for Mubarak

Cairo: The chief prosecutor in the trial of ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak said on Monday in his closing remarks that the former president should be given the death penalty for the killings of protesters in last year's uprising.

Mustafa Sulaiman said Mubarak clearly authorised use of live ammunition and a shoot-to-kill policy against peaceful protesters. According to government estimates, around 850 were killed in the crackdown from January 25 to February 11, 2011.

For this, Sulaiman told the presiding judges, Mubarak and five co-defendants, including his longtime Interior Minister Habib Al Adly and four former top security officers, should receive the maximum sentence.

"This is not a case about the killing of one or ten or 20 civilians, but a case of an entire nation," he said.

Listening attentively to the closing remarks, the 83-year-old Mubarak sat upright in his hospital bed in the courtroom cage.

His son Jamal and one-time heir apparent was seen in the defendants' cage whispering into his father's ear from time to time. His elder son Ala'a held a copy of the Quran and paced around nervously in the defendants' cage. Both sons are facing corruption charges in the same trial.

Lawyers for the victims applauded when Sulaiman said that Mubarak did not simply resign, but was ousted by popular will. He said that the historic case had entered its final stages and was "the concern of all Egyptians."

The defence team of the former president is expected to present its closing arguments tomorrow, the same day that the presiding judge will announce a date for the verdict.