Trial of Mubarak and sons adjourned until Wednesday

Flown in by helicopter from the military hospital where he is being held, ousted President Hosni Mubarak was wheeled back into the defendants’ cage for his trial at Cairo’s police academy on Tuesday.  His trial, along with that of ten other defendants from his inner circle, was adjourned until Wednesday.

In the ongoing historic spectacle, which local media outlets have referred to as “the trial of the century,” Mubarak is standing trial before the Cairo Criminal Court along with his two sons Alaa and Gamal, former Minister of Interior Habib al-Adly and his six deputies, as well as fugitive businessman Hussein Salem, who is being tried in absentia.

The court is looking into several cases pertaining to the failure of the authorities to prevent the killing of hundreds of protesters during the January 25 uprising in 2011, as well as alleged administrative and financial corruption under the Mubarak regime and the export of natural gas to Israel at below market prices.

Hosni Mubarak and seven police generals are accused of ordering a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters, while also seeking to create a security vacuum during the 18-day uprising in early 2011.

Hosni, Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, together with fugitive businessman Hussein Salem, face charges of corruption and profiteering.

Dressed in a blue suit and tie and sitting in a wheelchair, 85 year-old Mubarak smiled and waved as he was gently wheeled into the defendants’ cage. By his side were Alaa and Gamal, dressed in white prison uniforms.

Donning a dark dress shirt, Adly denied charges of murdering protesters. The former interior minister and his lawyers argued that the Muslim Brotherhood is responsible for the deaths of protesters on January 28, 2011 — known as the “Day of Rage.” He also claimed that the Al Jazeera satellite channel aired misleading images and footage that led to false accusations of police brutality directed against the Interior Ministry.

Adly sought to distance himself from any wrongdoing by denying that police forces had opened fire on protesters. The former interior minister claimed there were no police forces in Tahrir Square on January 28 after 4 pm.

While his six deputies were released from prison, Adly remains behind bars pending trial.

On June 2 2012, Mubarak and Adly were sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of failing to prevent the deaths of over 800 protesters, but a higher court has been hearing their appeals since January 2013.

Alaa and Gamal Mubarak were previously acquitted of some charges, but kept in detention for other charges of corruption and inside-trading. The court had similarly acquitted Adly’s six police deputies of charges accusing them of killing protesters. These six police chiefs have been brought in to testify in the ongoing appeal trial, but are not being held in detention.

Since his ouster on February 11, 2011, Mubarak has been held under house arrest or in military hospital and not in prison. In August 2013, a judge ruled that Mubarak could be relocated from hospital and placed under house arrest.

Ousted President Mohamed Morsy has been detained by security forces and held in prison since the military deposed him on July 3, 2013 amid mass protests against his rule.

Unlike Mubarak, Morsy has been held in a sound-proof glass box within the defendants' cage while standing trial due to his persistent efforts to disrupt the court.