Egypt's ousted ruler Mubarak to hear verdict

Asmaa Waguih / Reuters

Pictures of people who died during last year's revolution are seen in front of security forces next to the courthouse in Cairo where former president Hosni Mubarak will heard the verdict in his trial Saturday.

By msnbc.com staff and news services

CAIRO - Egypt's ousted ruler Hosni Mubarak was expected in court Saturday to hear the verdict on charges of graft and complicity in the killing of protesters. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

"Enough talk, we want execution," protesters chanted outside the court set up in a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo, Reuters reported. Hundreds of police with riot shields and batons surrounded the facility where the 10-month trial has been held.?

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"I believe there is no justice; if Mubarak was not the president, he would have been executed long time ago," Nahayat Mohamed, 14, told Ahram Online Saturday.

But the newspaper also said a "handful" of pro-Mubarak had arrived outside the police academy where the trial is being held, holding banners that read "Hosni Mubarak is a legend" and "The most honourable Egyptian is Mubarak."

Ahram Online reported at 9:38 a.m. local time (3:38 a.m. ET) that Mubarak, wearing sunglasses, a beige top and black trousers, was wheeled in to the police academy as he lay on a stretcher.

Voters lined up in Cairo to choose from five leading candidates: a socialist, two Islamists, and two with ties to former President Hosni Mubarak. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

If convicted, the 84-year-old former president could face anything from a few years in jail to the death penalty.?

Few Egyptians expect he will go to the gallows, even if some think that is what he deserves. Protesters have often hung his effigy from lamp posts since he fell on February 11, 2011.?

"I want nothing less than the death penalty for Mubarak. Anything less and we will not be silent and the revolution will break out again," said Hanafi el-Sayed, whose 27-year-old son was killed in the first days of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011. He had travelled from Alexandria for the trial.?

'Fair trial'?
Mubarak's two sons, standing trial with their father, alongside his former interior minister and six other senior officers, arrived at the court, state media reported. Television images showed the inside of the court and the cage where Mubarak and other defendants will be put to hear the ruling.?

NBC's Richard Engel spoke with former President Jimmy Carter to talk about Egypt's elections and the country's future. The Carter Center has been in Egypt monitoring the presidential elections.

It is the first time an Arab leader ousted by his people has been placed before a regular court. Mubarak's trial had Arabs glued to the television last year and sent a message to other autocrats battling rebellions what fate might await them.?

"Mubarak's trial has the potential to set a meaningful regional precedent for accountability for human rights abuses and for upholding international fair trial standards," Human Rights Watch wrote in a report before the session.?

?Runoff could take Egypt's voters on one of two very different paths

But the ruling could not come at a more sensitive time for Egypt, right in the middle of a fraught presidential election that pits a figure from the Muslim Brotherhood, banned under Mubarak, against the deposed leader's last prime minister.?

?Can voters force candidates to compromise in Egypt run-off?

The verdict could herald more political turmoil, although Judge Ahmed Refaat, who has already had three months to consider his decision, could postpone it if he needs more time.?

"It cannot be that, after 15 months of the revolution and the crimes committed, Mubarak is not punished. This would destroy any trust in the judiciary," said engineer Saad Ali, 35.?

Reuters contributed to this report.

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