Egypt strongman Mubarak is dead

Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian strongman ousted in 2011 after nearly 30 years in power, died Tuesday.

He was 91.

“Indeed, to ‘Allah we belong and to Allah we shall return.’ My father, Hosni Mubarak, passed away this morning,” his son Alaa Mubarak tweeted.

Mubarak, trained as a pilot and regarded as a military hero, took over as president of Egypt in October 1981 when President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Islamic extremists.

For decades, he was untouchable, imprisoning anyone who spoke out against him while maintaining close ties to the West as he positioned himself as a defense against chaos in the Middle East.

But in 2011, his grace period ended abruptly as thousands of protesters rose up against him in 18 days of protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Eighteen days after the protests began, Mubarak stepped down on Feb. 11, 2011, and the military took over. In 2012, Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for the death of an estimated 900 protesters killed by his security forces during the uprising.

The life sentence was overturned in January 2013 and he was released under house arrest, but was sentenced to three years in prison for embezzlement in May 2014.

Mubarak was eventually acquitted of conspiring to have the protesters killed and was released from prison in March 2017, following years of health problems, including a reported heart attack, cancer and several falls, including one that required surgery.

Egyptian state media reported that Mubarak died at a military hospital.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted a video expressing “deep sorrow” over Mubarak’s death. “President Mubarak, a personal friend of mine, was a leader who guided his people to peace and security, to peace with Israel,” Netanyahu said.

Mubarak is survived by his wife, Suzanne, two sons and four grandchildren.