By Heba Fahmy
CAIRO: The defense team representing Ismail Al-Shaer, former head of the Cairo Security Directorate, called on the court Tuesday to summon 18 witnesses, including 11 generals.
The witnesses include Hamdy Badin, head of the military police, Morad Mowafy, chief of General Intelligence, Mohamed Naguib Abdel Salam, former head of the Republican Guard, Mostafa Abdel Nabi, former head of Homeland Security, and Mohamed Galal, head of security at the interior ministry.
Al-Shaer’s defense team also demanded the re-examination of Tahrir Square and other areas which witnessed the death of protesters during the 18-day revolt in January 2011.
“These are all tactics for the trial to drag on and postpone the verdict,” Osman El-Hefnawy, head of the defense team representing the victims’ families, told Daily News Egypt.
Mohamed said that summoning witnesses took place months ago and now that the trial was coming to an end, he doubted that the court would accommodate the defense’s requests.
The trial began on Aug. 3, 2011 but was halted for two months when lawyers representing the families of martyrs requested replacing the presiding judge. The defense hearings are scheduled to end on Feb. 16. The court will listen to the prosecution on Feb. 20.
“The trial might be adjourned a month or so for deliberations before issuing the final verdict, but a verdict has to be issued before June 30 when Judge Ahmed Refaat is expected to retire,” El-Hefnawy said.
The trial was adjourned to Wednesday to listen to the defense of Osama Yousef El-Marasy, former head of Giza Security Directorate and Omar Faramawy, security director for Sixth of October province.
While a fact finding mission said 846 were killed during the 18-day uprising, Mubarak, former interior minister Habib El-Adly and six of his aides are charged with complicity in the killing of 225 who were targeted in public squares, not in front of police stations.
Al-Shaer’s defense team claimed that the prosecution’s findings were invalid and that it was “morally coerced” to prosecute Mubarak and his aides.
“They claimed that the martyrs’ families and the media pushed the general prosecutor to file charges against Mubarak and his aides, but this is all nonsense,” said El-Hefnawy.
Many believe that Mubarak and his aides were only tried after pressure from mass protests, months after Mubarak was ousted on Feb. 11.
The lawyers said Al-Shaer was innocent, saying that he ordered security officials not to use any firearms while dealing with the protesters. They claimed that most of those who were killed during the 18-day revolt died on Mohamed Mahmoud Street near the interior ministry, adding that Al-Shaer wasn’t responsible for the interior ministry.
They added that the only armed troops were the ones securing state institutions, embassies and banks.
During Monday’s hearing, Al-Shaer’s defense team said that he was present in Tahrir Square on Jan. 25 and Jan. 28 until military forces took over security. Al-Shaer wasn’t even carrying his personal gun, the lawyers claimed.
The lawyers pointed fingers at military forces, saying that most of the deaths occurred on Jan. 28 and Jan. 29 under the military forces’ watch and despite the absence of police and central security forces.
“The defense is trying to rid the defendants of the responsibility in killing the protesters and blame it on military forces,” civil rights lawyer Mohamed Safi El-Din told DNE.
Security forces retreated after protesters managed to take over Tahrir Square on Jan. 28 dubbed “Friday of Anger.” Military forces entered provinces across Egypt to protect vital institutions, while vowing not to engage in clashes with civilians.
Al-Shaer’s lawyers compared El-Adly with the current Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim, whose reign witnessed the death of 71 Ahly club fans in Port Said. The defense team argued that Ibrahim was merely interrogated by the People’s Assembly for hours, while El-Adly is on trial although there isn’t sufficient evidence against him.
Civil rights lawyers were outraged saying that Mubarak and his aides were responsible for the organized football violence as part of the counter-revolution.
“Mubarak said it’s either me or chaos in one of his final speeches during the 18-day revolt,” said El-Hefnawy.
Protesters and MPs have blamed the police for facilitating the deadly violence in Port Said. The current minister of interior and other security chiefs have since been heavily criticized in parliament.
