Hosni Mubarak with his family, including sons Alaa and Gamal. Photo from mangaone.

A Cairo court sentenced former president Hosni Mubarak to three years in prison, after convicting him of embezzlement.

Mubarak was removed from power in 2011 during a popular uprising after he had spent nearly 30 years in power.

Sophomore Jake Kumamoto said, “I had no idea that he was in trouble for anything money related, I just knew from the news that the Egyptian people didn’t like him and threw him out of office.”

Mubarak’s two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were also convicted and sentenced to four years each.

The three Mubaraks were convicted of charges that they had embezzled millions of dollars of state funds over a decade near the end of Hosni Mubarak’s rule.  The stolen funds were supposed to be for maintaining and renovating presidential palaces but were instead spent on the family’s personal residences.

The three showed no emotions as the verdict was read aloud.

They were fined 21.2 million Egyptian pounds ($2.1 million) and ordered to reimburse the state treasury 125 million Egyptian pounds ($17.6 million).  The three have the right to appeal their convictions before a higher court.

Sophomore Vincent Todesco said, “Honestly, I thought Egypt was much less put together than this, especially if, just three years ago, they removed their president.  The fact that they are stable enough to have what I think was a legitimate trial of an issue this big impresses me.”

“Also, because they are allowing the three Mubaraks to appeal their conviction, it makes me think that Egypt is a much more stable country than I thought, it seems like they have a court system very similar to ours,” Todesco also said.

One hundred and twenty million Egyptian pounds were returned to the state by the Mubaraks in connection with the case in the hopes that the charges would be dropped, but proceedings continued anyway.

Sophomore Daniel Morrow said, “Egypt is really impressing me in that they didn’t take what appears to me to be a bribe and they continued on with the trial.  I’m glad that people in power are being held accountable.”

Four other defendants were acquitted.

Hosni Mubarak, who turned 86 this month, still has to deal with a retrial over his failure to stop the killing of more than 900 protestors during the revolt that ended his rule.

Due to poor health, Mubarak is likely to spend his sentence in the hospital.