Hosni Mubarak could be hanged: Top judge

Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak may be hanged or jailed for life if found guilty of ordering the killing of pro-democracy protesters, as he was shifted to a military hospital pending a transfer to prison, state media said.

Zakaria Shalash, head of the Cairo's Appeal's Court was quoted by official Al-Ahram newspaper as saying that Mubarak may face execution after a trial, if he is found guilty of ordering killings of protesters during the January popular uprising.

An estimated 800 people were reported killed in pro-democracy protest that shook Egypt for more than a fortnight. The judge said that such a trial could last up to a year.

His comments come as Egypt's Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud ordered the transfer of the ailing Mubarak from a civil to a military hospital, until his health allows him to be transferred to prison.

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Though state media did not disclose where Mubarak was being shifted, other media reports said that the former president is being moved to the military hospital in Hadayk-al-Quba in capital Cairo.

The toppled Egyptian president and his two sons Alaa and Gamal have been remanded to 15-day custody this week after prosecutors launched a probe into violence against protesters during a 18-day popular uprising that forced Mubarak out of office and on allegations of corruption and misuse of authority.

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The top Egyptian judge said that the confession of the former interior minister Habib al-Adly who is also on trial on charges of ordering shootings of anti-democracy protesters could make Mubarak an accomplice. Adly has confessed before a court that he ordered firing on protesters on the orders of the former president.

"If these charges are proved in the court, he (Mubarak) could face the same punishment as the person who carried it out and it cant be anything less than execution, Salash said. But he added that the court may take a lenient view if it was proved that Mubarak did not act in a pre meditated manner.