Hosni Mubarak's trial adjourned till Tuesday

Jan 02, 2012 |

CAIRO

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Hosni Mubarak

Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, accused of ordering the killing of anti-regime protesters, appeared in court again on Monday accompanied by his sons, before the high-profile trial was adjourned till Tuesday to hear the prosecution's arguments.

The next hearings are scheduled to take place over Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

An ailing Mubarak, 83, was wheeled in the courtroom on a stretcher and his sons Gamal and Alaa, also facing charges, were present beside him, the 'Al Arabiya' reported.

Mubarak, his sons, Egypt's former interior minister Habib al-Adly and six top police officers are being tried together in a Cairo court.

Mubarak and his aides are charged with being complicit in the killing of over 800 protesters during a popular uprising last year that ousted his regime.

If convicted, Mubarak could face the death penalty. The accused also face corruption charges. He was brought to the courthouse in the Police Academy on a stretcher, after being flown from a hospital in a helicopter, live footage broadcast by state television showed.

The former strongman is being treated in a military hospital for a heart condition. His lawyer Farid al-Deeb says Mubarak suffers from stomach cancer.

On Thursday, a local court had acquitted five policemen of charges of killing five protesters during the uprising.

Mubarak's trial had resumed on Wednesday after a three- month hiatus that saw other major developments like fresh protests and clashes and an Islamists' election victory eclipse his trial.

In early December, the court turned down an appeal for a new judge, filed by lawyers representing the victims' families to change Judge Ahmed Refaat. Mubarak is the first leader, toppled in the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings to appear before a court.

The first hearing on August 3 was broadcast live on TV, but Refaat soon ordered the cameras out. Egypt's military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi testified in Mubarak's trial on September 24 under a total media blackout.

Leaks of his testimony suggested that he sought to absolve Mubarak of any responsibility for the killing of nearly 850 protesters during the 18-day uprising that forced him to step down on February 11.

During early sessions, the trial was bogged down by frequent commotion and arguments in the courtroom between the defence and lawyers representing the protesters. Yussri Abdul Razek, the lawyer who heads the defence committee for Mubarak - which includes four Kuwaiti lawyers - said last week he had obtained "new documents that will prove Mubarak's innocence."

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