DEATH OF A TYRANT
Egypt’s ex-president passes away at 91
EGYPT’S despotic former ruler Hosni Mubarak has died, aged 91 – nine years after he was ousted in the Arab Spring revolution.
The ex-president, who spent three decades in office before the uprising, was one of the world’s most controversial and feared leaders.
He was found guilty of complicity in the killing of protesters during the 2011 revolution, which led to him being sentenced to life imprisonment the following year.
He and his two sons were also found guilty of diverting public funds and using the money to upgrade properties in 2015.
But the more serious charges against Mubarak were later overturned and he was released in 2017.
Yesterday, it was confirmed he had died at a military hospital in the Egyptian capital Cairo. Mubarak had undergone surgery in late January.
In a post on social media by his son Alaa, he was pictured with his grandson
Omar in hospital. Born in 1928, Mubarak entered the Egyptian air force as a teen in 1949. He went on to play a key role in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Mubarak was instrumental in planning a surprise attack on Israeli forces at the start of the conflict and became a national hero. Two years later, President Anwar Sadat made him his deputy. In October, 1981, soldiers opposed to the peace agreement with Israel assassinated Sadat during a parade and Mubarak became president. Despite receiving billions of dollars in military aid from donor countries including Russia, unemployment, poverty and corruption continued to grow. Discontent boiled over in January, 2011, after similar protests in Tunisia led to the overthrow of the president there. Mubarak was forced to step down 18 days later following unprecedented protests in Tahrir Square, in Cairo. He was allowed to remain in Egypt, but largely stayed out of the public eye.