Hosni Mubarak’s trial begins in Cairo -

Hosni Mubarak’s trial begins in Cairo - The Washington Post

 

CAIRO — Nearly six months after he was forced from power, ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was wheeled into the cage of a Cairo courtroom Wednesday to be tried for allegedly ordering the killing of protesters this year.

The former autocrat’s appearance before a judge gripped millions of Egyptians, who are awestruck by the reversal of fortune of a man who for three decades ruled the Arab world’s most populous nation with an iron fist.

After the chief prosecutor read the charges, presiding Judge Ahmed Refaat asked Mubarak, who was lying on a gurney and looking sickly, to enter a plea.

“I deny all these charges and accusations categorically,” Mubarak said.

Mubarak is being tried alongside his sons Gamal and Alaa, who are charged with corruption. They also denied culpability. Former interior minister Habib al-Adli is also being tried in the case for allegedly ordering the killing of protesters.

Mubarak could be sentenced to death if convicted in the slaying of demonstrators. He also faces graft charges.

Wednesday’s court session included the presentation of pretrial motions, the reading of the charges and the entering of the not-guilty pleas. Refaat, the judge, then adjourned the Mubaraks’ trial until Aug. 15, saying he needed time to review the motions from the defense and lawyers representing relatives of slain protesters.

The judge said the elder Mubarak would be held at a nearby hospital until the trial resumes.

Mubarak’s attorney, Fardid el-Dib, offered the first glimpse of the defense strategy Wednesday, saying that Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, the head of Egypt’s military council, took charge of security operations Jan. 28. That was the day Egyptian authorities deployed the army to the streets of Cairo in an effort to control swelling street protests that had overwhelmed riot police squads.

Dib’s effort to shift responsibility for the killing of protesters to the army — and away from Mubarak — could fuel growing anger over the role the military chiefs played during the revolt, and after they assumed control of the country Feb. 11.

The interim leaders have continued to try civilians in military trials and have at times used force to break up demonstrations — most recently on Monday in Tahrir Square.

Many Egyptians doubted that the country's interim military rulers would put their former boss, a former air force chief, on trial. But after months of intensifying protests, Egypt’s military council made good on its promise to put the country’s longtime leader on trial.

Mubarak had not been seen in public since he delivered a defiant speech Feb. 10, vowing he would not resign. A day later, he hastily traveled to the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh after the country’s military chiefs forced him to step down.

The former leader has been hospitalized in in Sharm el-Sheikh for months. Mubarak’s attorney has said the 83-year-old is too ill to be put on trial, but Egypt’s health minister certified in recent days that Mubarak is fit enough for the proceedings.

Earlier the judge heard from several lawyers representing relatives of slain demonstrators. The attorneys complained that many relatives of killed protesters had not been allowed inside the courtroom.

As the hearing proceeded, skirmishes broke out outside the courtroom as groups that appeared to be Mubarak supporters clashed with riot police officers. The dueling sides threw rocks for a few minutes, until security forces intervened.

“We are here because we love our father,” the pro-Mubarak crowd chanted before the melee broke out. “No matter what you do, we’re his children, and we’ll protect him.”

But many Egyptians said they were enthralled to see the former president in a cage. Some replaced their Facebook profile photo with a screen grab of Mubarak lying on his stretcher.

Amr Ezzat, 23, whose 18-year-old brother Ahmed was killed in a protest on Jan. 28, said the beginning of the trial would allow his family to start grieving.

“I feel that my brother is comfortable now in his grave,” Ezzat said, adding that the family would start accepting condolences Wednesday afternoon.