(file photo: AFP)
The trial of former Egyptian Interior Minister, Habib El-Adly, resumed on Saturday, as did the trial against the notorious “prince of thugs” Sabry Helmy Nakhnoukh. El-Adly was tried in the Cairo criminal court, while Nakhnoukh was tried in the Alexandria criminal court.
Alongside El-Adly stood Hassan Abdel Hamed Ahmed, the former deputy minister for the security forces sector, and a commander of El-Adly’s guard, Ahmed Lutfi. The men are facing trial in regards to allegations of forced labour. The Giza criminal court had previously postponed the hearing to allow for more evidence to be examined against Lutfi and El-Adly.
El-Adly is accused of using security recruits as cheap labour on his two farms. He is also accused of having used the recruits to build two homes for himself, a claim he insists he had no knowledge of, saying he was under the assumption that he had hired contractors and had paid accordingly.
On 2 June, El-Adly was found guilty alongside former President Hosni Mubarak of failing to stop the bloodshed during the revolution. He was given a life-sentence for his lack of action, but was found not guilty of ordering the police to attack protesters.
Nakhnoukh’s trial was the second hearing against the alleged crime lord, who is being investigated for possession of firearms, narcotics and forging official documents. He is being held on remand.
When Nakhnoukh was arrested in his villa outside Alexandria, police found five lions and other animals in the garden of his villa. The police confiscated hashish, explosive detonators, automatic weapons and thousands of pounds in Egyptian and foreign currencies. He insisted his arrest was politically motivated due to his unwavering ties to the dissolved National Democratic Party and the former regime. By his own admission, Nakhnoukh assisted El-Adly in blocking polling stations and vote rigging.
