Hosni Mubarak, former long-time president of Egypt, was laid to rest following a full military funeral with his family, including sons Gamal and Alaa, in attendance, along with the current ruler Abdel Fatah el-Sisi and top military officials.
Mubarak was 91 when he passed, having been released from prison just three years earlier and allowed to live out his final years with his family.
Despite the mixed legacy of his three-decade reign in Egypt, Mubarak was honored in a public funeral and praised as a war hero. A statement from the Egyptian presidency called Mubarak “one of the leaders and heroes,” of the war against Israel. Egypt’s military also released a statement lauding Mubarak’s record during his time in the Egyptian air force.
Perhaps feeling nostalgic, many Egyptians are looking back at Mubarak’s 30 years kindly as compared to the current rule of el-Sisi. Aida Seif El-Dawla, of the Nadeem Centre for Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture and Violence, described life under el-Sisi’s rule as “revenge for having revolted against Mubarak.”