Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak testified in court on Wednesday in the ‘Prison Break’ case where former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi is standing trial.
The rare appearance of Mubarak is the first since he was acquitted from charges of ordering to kill protesters.
Throughout his testimony, he said that during the 2011 revolution, 800 people from different nationalities stormed into Egypt’s eastern border through the Gaza tunnels, therefore allowing prisoners from Hamas, Hezbollah, and other criminals to escape.
Mubarak was accompanied by his two sons, Gamal and Alaa Mubarak.
Mubarak said that “they entered Egyptian land through Gaza and had weapons. They headed toward the prisons to release prisoners belonging to Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood.”
The former president added that the perpetrators broke into the Wadi Al-Natrun prison, which contained a number of “Brotherhood and Hamas members.” He also said that by default Hamas members are all members of the Brotherhood.
He added that once the perpetrators got into Sinai, they “killed police officers and stormed into security buildings.” However, he added that he has further information but would “need permission from the presidency to reveal more.”
Mubarak was asked by the judge about the tunnels from Gaza to Sinai. He said “the issue of the Gaza tunnels is complex, and we destroyed many of them before the revolution… We were exposed to attacks from Gaza while destroying the tunnels.”
Since March 2017, and after six years since the spark of the 25 January revolution, the Cassation Court acquitted Mubarak of all charges related to the killing of protesters during the revolution.
Mubarak and the then Minister of Interior, Habib El-Adly, were charged with killing protesters, however, the prosecution stated that they only provided weapons and vehicles that were used in the attacks. They are now walking free but are accused of charges in other pending trials.
Morsi—who was also the leader of the Freedom and Justice Party, which is affiliated with the Brotherhood—is already facing the death penalty on other charges.
Morsi came to power in 2012 after winning the presidential elections. However, his ouster came on 3 July 2013, following mass protests started on 30 June 2013, in opposition to his ruling.
The Brotherhood was labelled as a terrorist organisation in 2013, following a court decision that banned the group. Thousands of its members are being tried in front of the Egyptian judiciary.
