May 24 (Reuters) - Egypt referred ousted President Hosni Mubarak to court on Tuesday over the killing of protesters and other charges, defying speculation the former president would be spared public humiliation. Below is reaction from analysts, opposition activists and others:
MOHAMMED ADEL, MEMBER OF APRIL 6 YOUTH MOVEMENT
"The verdict is a good thing but it came late. We would have liked it better if it came earlier. We should not be forced to call for big protests in order for the army council to listen to our demands and act."
HASSAN NAFAA, POLITICAL SCIENTIST AND MUBARAK CRITIC
"I think the government hopes that there will be smaller protests and this will appease the protesters a little bit, but I believe this will have no impact, and I expect that the (turnout at protests) next Friday will be huge."
ABDEL MONEIM ABDEL-MAKSOUD, SENIOR MEMBER OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD
"There was no doubt that Mubarak would eventually go to trail if investigations proved him guilty in the crimes he is accused of."
"We were only wondering why it took so long before that to happen."
SARA HASSAN, INDEPENDENT MIDDLE-EAST RISK ANALYST
"The outcome of these revolutions does not look very good for previous leaders across the region."
"A lot of the regimes -- Syria, Libya, and even Yemen -- are looking carefully at the example of Tunisia and Egypt to see what has happened." "Clearly in the case of Egypt, they wouldn't like to see themselves face a similar fate to that of the Mubarak family. This ups the stake for these regimes."
"I think they will be more intent on hanging on, despite the costs. There is no stepping down, stepping aside, waiting a few years and perhaps coming back to power."
"Many leaders, and not just the ones facing revolts in their own countries, will be looking very carefully at what happens to the Mubarak family."
JUDGE AHMED MEKKY, DEPUTY HEAD OF EGYPT'S APPEAL COURT
"There are no double standards in the law."
"If those crimes were proven on the former president, he could face the penalty the law has for such crimes, which includes the death penalty."
IBRAHIM ZAHRAN, FOUNDER OF THE EGYPTIAN LIBERATION PARTY
"Regarding Hosni Mubarak specifically, I think referring him to the criminal court is a step forward. We don't want to gloat, we don't want revenge, we just want to apply the law. He didn't apply the law, but we want to."
NABIL ABDEL FATTAH, POLITICAL ANALYST
"Mubarak and his family were the symbols of a centralised authoritarian regime and I think this represents a very important step to rebuild our tradition of justice."
"This will help project Egypt's soft power to authoritarian regimes and monarchies in the region, but also to Egypt's future president and the entire political class."
ISLAM AHMED ON FACEBOOK
"We don't want money. This is a country's entire history for 30 years that was written with corruption, abuse of power and humiliation. What about his responsibilities since he swore oath?"
MOHAMED ELM ON FACEBOOK
"Mubarak is not a symbol for Egypt and he is not the father of Egyptians. He is an employee and he betrayed the trust he was given, he sold out the country, he is the reason behind the killing and the arrest of millions of Egyptians. He has impoverished us and humiliated us. He must be politically tried."
MAHMOUD DAHAB ON FACEBOOK
"Mubarak has been referred to trial because Friday is approaching. We understand this game already." (Reporting by Yasmine Saleh, Dina Zayed, Alexander Dziadosz and Shaimaa Fayed)
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