CAIRO: Former president Hosni Mubarak denied murder and corruption charges as he appeared in court with his two sons on Wednesday in a historic trial.
The trial hearings will resume on Aug. 15, following the opening procedural session.
Judge Ahmed Refaat, head of the Fifth District at the Cairo Criminal Court who is presiding over the case, ordered Mubarak, who was wheeled in to the dock on a stretcher, to be moved to the International Medical Center on the Cairo-Ismailia Road following the hearing.
Mubarak was flown in from the Sharm El-Sheikh Hospital, where he has been staying since his arrest on April 13.
Former interior minister Habib El-Adly along with six security chiefs also appeared in court after their case was added to Mubarak’s. Their trial will resume early Aug. 4.
Clashes erupted between pro- and anti-Mubarak protesters outside the police academy in New Cairo where the trial was held.
Defense lawyers and others representing the families of those killed and injured during protests presented requests to the court which included the summoning of new witnesses, reviewing official documents and compensation to the victims’ families.
Representing Mubarak, lawyer Farid El-Deeb requested that Mubarak’s case be separated from El-Adly’s and summoning the head of the ruling military council and Minister of Defense Hussein Tantawy as a witness.
The lawyer said Tantawy has been in charge of the country since Jan. 28. He also requested summoning all former South Sinai governors, in addition to 1,630 witnesses cited by the prosecution when it pressed murder charges against Mubarak.
Mubarak is facing charges of murder and attempted murder for ordering the killing of protesters. At the court on Wednesday, Prosecutor Mostafa Soliman said the former president agreed to the killings by not interfering in his capacity as president to stop them.
The prosecutor also detailed the corruption charges against Mubarak that include taking villas for himself and his sons worth almost LE 40 million from Hussein Salem, the second defendant in the case who is being tried in absentia, in exchange for facilitating the acquisition of land for the latter in South Sinai.
Mubarak also facilitated a gas deal to Salem that allowed the latter to export natural gas to Israel at prices lower than the international market price, which cost the state $714 million in losses, the prosecutor said. The deal helped boost the share price of East Mediterranean Gas company, in which Salem owns a major stake, and hence the charge of profiteering.
A lawyer representing victims requested that former Prime Minister Atef Ebeid be added as a defendant to the gas exports case.
Alaa and Gamal Mubarak were also accused of abusing the influence of their father to facilitate land acquisitions in South Sinai.
Wheeled on a stretcher, Mubarak denied all charges, so did his sons who shielded him from cameras directed at the dock.
Judge Zakaria Abdel-Aziz said that ousted President Hosni Mubarak was brought in on a stretcher to elicit the people’s sympathy.
"He didn’t look that sick, as he was speaking easily and obviously had his hair died for the trial," Abdel Aziz told Daily News Egypt.
"They could’ve brought him in on a wheel chair but a bed was just too much," he added.
Gamal and Alaa shouldn’t have covered their father in the dock, as it obstructed the audience in the court and the TV camera from seeing or getting footage of him, he said.
"This raises speculation and doubt about the trial."
Lawyers from the State Judicial committee, in a rare representation of the state against an individual, requested LE 1 billion in compensation to be paid to the state treasury, which has been compensating injured protesters and the families of the martyrs.
They also called for compensation for damages to private property and to the security and tourism sectors.
Ahmed Ragheb director of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center said that the case needed to include political corruption charges related to Mubarak’s rule which extended for 30 years.
"It’s not only about the crimes Mubarak committed from Jan. 25 until his ouster or the ridiculous corruption charges they filed against him," Ragheb said.
"It’s about 30 years of corruption and tyranny towards the people," he said.
Saad El-Katatny, secretary general of Freedom and Justice Party, voiced a similar opinion.
"If they are now being prosecuted for killing protestors they must also be prosecuted for forging elections, corrupting political and economic life over the past decades which are crimes that are as important as killing and stealing public money."
A plaintiff lawyer requested the investigation of a case implicating Mubarak in receiving arms deals commissions, in a civil not a military court, since Mubarak allegedly took these commissions as a civilian.
Killing protesters
El-Adly, along with six security chiefs — Ahmed Ramzy Abdel Rashid, Adly Abdel-Rahman Fayed, Hassan Abdel-Rahman Yousef, Ismail El-Shaeir, Osama Yousef El-Marasy, and Omar Abdel-Aziz Faramawy — had their trial added to Mubarak’s last month.
Defense lawyers requested the field inspection of certain Downtown Cairo landmarks to prove the inaccuracy of incriminating testimonies. They also called for summoning current interior minister Mansour El-Essawy as a witness.
Field Marshal and head of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) Hussein Tantawy, Chief of Staff Sami Anan and former vice president Omar Soleiman were also requested to appear as witnesses by lawyers representing victim.
They wanted to question both army leaders about earlier statements in which they said they had refused orders to kill protesters.
A defense lawyer also called upon the prosecution to provide minutes of cabinet meetings held on Jan. 22.
Faramawy’s and El-Marasy’s lawyers requested that the cases be referred to a misdemeanor court.
Ihab Ramzy, lawyer representing El-Marasy, told Daily News Egypt, "The legal procedures were fair and well-organized unlike previous trials of regime figures although the court adjourned the case without agreeing to listen to witnesses we mentioned."
"This is a historic scene not only in Egypt but in the Arab world to see Mubarak in the cage with his sons," he said.
Lawyers representing the victims’ families requested the summoning of the following witnesses: Amr Badawy, head of the National Telecom Regulatory Authority; Abdel-Latif El-Menawy former head of the news sector at state TV; and representatives of the three mobile network operators.
Lawyers also called for adding other defendants to the case of killing protesters for their role in inciting against demonstrators through media. These include former Shoura Council Speaker Safwat El-Sherif and former chief of presidential staff Zakaria Azmy.
Lawyers also requested to summon El-Essawy to testify about state security snipers who reportedly shot at protesters in January in addition to providing lists of officers on duty and where they were posted at the time of the killings.
Lawyers also requested checking the phone records of calls exchanged between all defendants.
Precedence
Lawyers complained that 130 others representing martyrs’ families were not allowed to enter the court. The judge asked the lawyers to promptly present their complaints.
TV journalist Yousri Foda said on his Twitter account that security had removed names from lists approved by the court, including his.
Hassan Aboul-Enien, representing martyrs’ families, told Daily News Egypt that the "Egyptian judiciary proved today not only that it is still reliable but that it is one of the best in the world, everything went in accordance with the law which was strictly applied."
"The court responded to all lawyers’ demands, although some were unrelated to the case and respected the legal rights of both sides."
In general, positivity marked most reactions.
El-Katatny said the trial assured that justice will prevail, adding that continuing on this path would build trust with authorities.
“Over all, publicity was the most important thing and having a former president tried in court shows how modern Egypt has become,” said Wael Nawara, member of the Democratic Front Party.
Usually after revolutions the dictator is killed “but for him to show up in court as a regular defendant is very promising,” he added.
"Mubarak’s trial and his appearance in court inside the cage have put to rest a lot of speculations regarding the ability to put on trial the ousted president and figures of the regime," said Mohamed Farag, assistant secretary general of El-Tagammu Party.
"Today marks a starting point in trials which will satisfy the youth and representatives of the revolution’s powers and the families of the martyrs," he added. –Additional reporting by Safaa Abdoun, Heba Fahmy and Tamim Elyan.
In this image taken from Egyptian State television on August 3, 2011, Egyptian former interior minister Habib al-Adly (R) stands along side Alaa (2nd R) and Gamal (L) Mubarak in a holding cell in the court room in the police academy on the outskirt of the capital Cairo, waiting for the start of their trial along with ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Man 2nd left is unidentified. (AFP PHOTO/DSK)
