By Tamim Elyan and Heba Fahmy
Deputy Minister of Justice for Court Affairs Mohamed Manei confirmed to Daily News Egypt Thursday that ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s trial will take place at the Cairo Exhibition Grounds on Aug. 3.
Preparations are currently underway to secure the General Authority for Investments Hall where Mubarak, his two sons, ex-interior minister Habib El-Adly and six of his aides are set to face charges of killing protesters during an 18-day popular revolt that toppled the regime.
Manei said that the army and police will be in charge of securing the hall “completely and permanently” from the start of the trial until a verdict is issued. There will be regulations on who will be allowed to attend.
“Today we had the final meeting with the Minister of Trade, senior officials at the Ministry of Interior and the army and confirmed that the hall is where the anticipated trial will be held and agreed on the final preparations to secure it,” Manei said.
“The security measures will be unprecedented and the regulations for attending the trial will be announced at a later date, whether for families of the defendants, the martyrs’ families or the revolutionary youth coalitions,” he added.
He emphasized that they want to avoid incidents such as what took place during El-Adly’s last hearing, when one of the attendances raised a shoe at him in the courtroom.
“We must act in a civilized way because the whole world is watching us,” Manei said.
Protesters holding a sit-in in Tahrir Square and in other public areas nationwide since July 8 have criticized the foot-dragging in the trials of Mubarak and former regime figures.
Following demands for more transparency of the procedures, the Supreme Judicial Council decided on July 12 to move the trials of former regime figures and officers accused of the killing of protesters to larger courts to allow for more public attendance, as well as air the trials on big screens outside the courthouse.
Since then, court sessions have also been broadcast live on public channels.
Only one camera belonging to State-TV will be allowed inside the courtroom to cover the Mubarak trial, according to the Middle East News Agency (MENA).
Security guards on the Exhibition Grounds told DNE that preparations for the trial would start on Sunday.
The justice ministry statement refuted wide speculation that the trial would be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, where the former president has been held in its main hospital for medical reasons ever since he was arrested on April 13.
Civil Society lawyers and the martyrs’ families were relieved to hear the news, saying that it would facilitate attending the trial, instead of traveling to the Red Sea resort town.
Chancellor Noha El-Zeiny said that trying Mubarak in Cairo demonstrated “the seriousness” of the trial and reassured the people that the trial would be public and fair.
“Mubarak’s stay in Sharm El-Sheikh negatively affects tourism and sends a message to the people that he is being given special treatment,” El-Zeiny told DNE.
This has led to speculation over the past few months about the possibility of Mubarak actually facing trial.
Presidential hopeful and head of Al-Ghad Party Ayman Nour said on “Naas Book” show on Rotana Masreyya channel late Wednesday that credible sources informed him that Mubarak wouldn’t attend the first hearing.
Nour suggested that the ousted president’s lawyers would present medical documents to the court, proving that his medical condition prevented him from attending the court session.
Mubarak would attend the second court session, after which he’d be transferred to the hospital in Tora Prison, Nour theorized.
Samir Helmy lawyer presenting the martyrs’ families, echoed Nour’s speculations, saying that he would demand that the former president stand in the dock in front of the court during the trial, like any other defendant.
“We will also call for the court to put together a medical committee monitored by officials from the prosecution to evaluate Mubarak’s health and present a second opinion,” he added.
“We want to have a just trial that will be documented in history.”
However, El-Zeiny dismissed these as mere speculations. The first court session, she explained, is usually postponed to a later date in any trial, as it is merely “procedural”.
The recent influx of reports about the whereabouts of the court were meant to probe the seriousness of putting the former president on trial. Deputy Head of the Cassation Court Ahmed Mekky said the focus should be on the organization and integrity of the trial.
“It doesn’t matter where the trial is held as long as it’s held with respect and dignity,” he said.
“(Mubarak’s) trial will be a historical event witnessed by the whole world,” he added, “Either it will raise Egypt up in the sky or bring it down to the ground.”
Mekky referred to the chaotic trial of El-Adly, which was aired on national TV on Monday.
“Court rooms should be respected more than mosques,” Mekky said.
Dozens of journalists and lawyers packed the chaotic courtroom on Monday. Lawyers and relatives of victims were pushing and shouting inside, prompting the judge to threaten to throw everyone out.
The 18-day uprising, which forced Mubarak to step down, saw bloody clashes between protesters and security forces, leaving at least 846 people dead and over 6,000 injured.
If convicted, Mubarak, 83, and the other defendants could face the death penalty.
