Monday, 02 January 2012
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak lies on a gurney while leaving the courtroom at the police academy where he is on trial in Cairo. (Reuters)
The trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has been adjourned to Tuesday for the judge to start hearing the prosecution, the state TV reported.
Earlier on Monday, the trial of Mubarak, his two sons Gamal and Alaa, former interior minister Habib al-Adly and six top police officers, was resumed at a Cairo court.
Mubarak was wheeled into court on a stretcher, live footage broadcast by state television showed.
The 83-year-old strongman is being treated in a military hospital for a heart condition between sessions of the trial. His lawyer Farid al-Deeb says Mubarak suffers from stomach cancer.
Mubarak and his aides are accused of ordering the killing of protesters during the Jan. 25 revolution. If convicted, Mubarak could face the death penalty.
Earlier on Monday, the trial of Mubarak, his two sons Gamal and Alaa, former interior minister Habib al-Adly and six top police officers, was resumed at a Cairo court.
Mubarak was wheeled into court on a stretcher, live footage broadcast by state television showed.
The 83-year-old strongman is being treated in a military hospital for a heart condition between sessions of the trial. His lawyer Farid al-Deeb says Mubarak suffers from stomach cancer.
Mubarak and his aides are accused of ordering the killing of protesters during the Jan. 25 revolution. If convicted, Mubarak could face the death penalty.
Alaa (L) and Gamal Mubarak (R) stand either side of their father, former President Hosni Mubarak
Mubarak’s trial was resumed on Wednesday after a three-month hiatus that saw the ousted strongman’s fate eclipsed by deadly clashes and an Islamist election victory, but later an announcement from the Egypt court said that the trial would be postponed and will take place on Monday instead.
In early December, the court turned down an appeal for a new judge which was filed by lawyers representing the victims’ families to change Judge Ahmed Refaat.
Television cameras, which were allowed in for the opening sessions, will not be allowed in court when the trial resumes.
Mubarak is the first leader to be toppled in the so-called Arab Spring uprisings to appear before a court. The first hearing on Aug. 3 was broadcast live on television, but Refaat soon ordered the cameras out.
Egypt’s military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi testified in Mubarak’s trial on Sept. 24 under a total media blackout. Leaks of his testimony suggested that he sought to absolve Mubarak of any responsibility for the killing of nearly 850 protesters during the 18-day uprising that forced him to step down on Feb. 11.
Ever since the trial began in August, many in the country have been riveted by the sight of their ailing former ruler of nearly 30 years lying in a hospital bed inside the courtroom’s cage, where defendants traditionally sit during trials in Egypt.
During early sessions, the trial was bogged down by frequent commotion and arguments in the courtroom between the defense and the lawyers representing the protesters.
Lawyers supporting the former president are hoping to clear his name.
Yussri Abdul Razek, who heads the defense committee -- which includes four Kuwaiti lawyers -- said last week he had obtained “new documents that will prove Mubarak’s innocence.”
In early December, the court turned down an appeal for a new judge which was filed by lawyers representing the victims’ families to change Judge Ahmed Refaat.
Television cameras, which were allowed in for the opening sessions, will not be allowed in court when the trial resumes.
Mubarak is the first leader to be toppled in the so-called Arab Spring uprisings to appear before a court. The first hearing on Aug. 3 was broadcast live on television, but Refaat soon ordered the cameras out.
Egypt’s military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi testified in Mubarak’s trial on Sept. 24 under a total media blackout. Leaks of his testimony suggested that he sought to absolve Mubarak of any responsibility for the killing of nearly 850 protesters during the 18-day uprising that forced him to step down on Feb. 11.
Ever since the trial began in August, many in the country have been riveted by the sight of their ailing former ruler of nearly 30 years lying in a hospital bed inside the courtroom’s cage, where defendants traditionally sit during trials in Egypt.
During early sessions, the trial was bogged down by frequent commotion and arguments in the courtroom between the defense and the lawyers representing the protesters.
Lawyers supporting the former president are hoping to clear his name.
Yussri Abdul Razek, who heads the defense committee -- which includes four Kuwaiti lawyers -- said last week he had obtained “new documents that will prove Mubarak’s innocence.”
Presidential polls process to begin April
Meanwhile, a report by state-run al-Ahram newspaper on Sunday said that the door for presidential candidature applications will open in April following the public referendum on the new constitution.
The report quoted Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Judge Mohammed Attiya as saying that the presidential elections will be held after the referendum on the new constitution, adding that the constituent assembly that will draft the constitution will be formed after both houses of parliament are seated end of March.
Attiya also said that cabinet will discuss the presidential elections law next Wednesday before presenting it to Egypt’s military rulers for final approval.
Al-Ahram quoted Attiya as saying that the process of electing a new president will be organized by a committee similar to the Supreme Electoral Commission which managed the recent parliamentary elections.
This committee will organize the voting process through election sub-committees in Egypt’s 27 governorates and will set rules on issues related to funding and campaigning.
Amongst the presidential contenders are former U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohammed ElBaradei; former Arab League chief Amr Moussa; opposition figure Ayman Nour who also ran in the 2005 presidential race against Mubarak and Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party representative Mohammed Selim al-Awa.
The report quoted Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Judge Mohammed Attiya as saying that the presidential elections will be held after the referendum on the new constitution, adding that the constituent assembly that will draft the constitution will be formed after both houses of parliament are seated end of March.
Attiya also said that cabinet will discuss the presidential elections law next Wednesday before presenting it to Egypt’s military rulers for final approval.
Al-Ahram quoted Attiya as saying that the process of electing a new president will be organized by a committee similar to the Supreme Electoral Commission which managed the recent parliamentary elections.
This committee will organize the voting process through election sub-committees in Egypt’s 27 governorates and will set rules on issues related to funding and campaigning.
Amongst the presidential contenders are former U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohammed ElBaradei; former Arab League chief Amr Moussa; opposition figure Ayman Nour who also ran in the 2005 presidential race against Mubarak and Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party representative Mohammed Selim al-Awa.
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