Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has received a sentence of life in prison for complicity in the killing of hundreds of anti-government protesters during last year's uprising that forced him from power.

Shortly after the sentence was handed down Saturday, Mr. Mubarak was taken to Tora prison. The former president who consistently arrived in court on a stretcher had been held in a hospital during his trial instead of a prison. Protesters have long demanded the former president be moved from the hospital to the prison where other defendants have stayed.

A senior lawyer for Mr. Mubarak's defense team told the French news agency that Mr. Mubarak would appeal the sentence.

Mr. Mubarak is the only leader toppled in the Arab uprising to be tried in his own country.

Former interior minister Habib al-Adly also received a life sentence for the killings, but six ex-police commanders were acquitted.

Mubarak's two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were acquitted on corruption charges.

A VOA correspondent reports on Twitter that scuffles broke out in the Cairo courtroom after the verdicts for Mubarak's sons were announced.

The prosecutor had sought the death penalty for the former president, who is 84 years old.

The former president's trial began in August of last year.