Mubarak's Trial Could Be a Sign of What's to Come for Egypt's Future Democracy

2011. augusztus 03. 10:58

Seven months after he was deposed, the former president is held accountable for his rule in a court case slated to start Wednesday.

2011. augusztus 03. 10:58
Thanassis Cambanis
The Atlantic

„Iraq aspired, and ultimately failed, to use Saddam Hussein's trial as a cornerstone for a new judicial order. Jurists there built a careful process, and intended to showcase the entire sad history of Saddam's era. In the end, though, Saddam was hooded in the middle of the night and hung after being convicted of just one of his crimes. Ultimately, Saddam's execution looked like sectarian revenge - henchmen of a Shia government, chanting Shia slogans, killed Saddam for massacring a Shia clan, indifferent to the crimes Saddam committed against other Iraqis. Lost was the chance to build a unifying national narrative.


Egypt is not Iraq and the parallel shouldn't be exaggerated. For all the corroding effects of Mubarak's rule, Egypt's judicial system and state institutions have retained more of their structure and credibility than their Iraqi counterparts under Saddam. There are plenty of judges and military officers and government bureaucrats in Egypt who retain professional integrity and public legitimacy.

Still, the content and duration of Mubarak's trial will be a sign of what's to come in Egypt. If the trial that begins tomorrow leads to a comprehensive airing of Mubarak's sordid, authoritarian legacy, then Egypt has much to hope for. If, on the other hand, we see a perfunctory inquest and speedy, shallow trial (or even worse, a trial that seems designed to avoid the darker legacy of Mubarak's rule), then we can expect Egypt's next chapter to be sadly continuous with its last one.”
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