The Verdict Protests

The fact that only Husni Mubarak and his interior minister were found guilty of crimes under the previous regime has led to a second day of protests in Egypt:

"Chanting against the verdict, demonstrators demanded the formation of a civilian presidential council including defeated candidates Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh and Hamdeen Sabbahi united under Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy.

"They also called for the retrial of all defendants in the case and that the Political Isolation Law be applied to Ahmed Shafiq, who will compete against Morsy in the election runoff on 16 and 17 June.

"The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Mubarak and former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly to life imprisonment for failing to stop the killing of demonstrators during the 25 January uprising. The court acquitted six top security officials in the same case, as well as Mubarak’s sons Gamal and Alaa and fugitive business tycoon Hussein Salem, for corruption charges."

I haven't been following the trial in detail, but if Mubarak and al-Adly are guilty of failing to stop the killing of protestors, and everyone else is innocent, who is guilty of causing it?

Also noteworthy is how this intersects with Ahmad Shafiq's success in the first round of the presidential elections, creating a sense that the revolution is in danger through something other than the SCAF.  On Shafiq, Sandmonkey suggests that Copts voted for him overwhelmingly because the Mubarak regime was better for them as a group than the first unstable year of the revolution.  I'm not entirely sure what that's based on, as I doubt there are credible exit polls, but if true it highlights the ineffectiveness of transition politics at truly incorporating the fears and aspirations of all Egyptians.  In fact, it could actually be the case that close to half of Shafiq's votes came from Copts, who in this way indicated they need to be reckoned with electorally.  I only hope it doesn't lead to anti-Coptic sentiment among the revolutionaries.