Hosni Mubarak Trial Resumes

CAIRO — The trial of Hosni Mubarak resumed Monday amid speculation that a recent acquittal of policemen tried in the killings of protesters could be a prelude to the dismissal of charges against the ousted Egyptian leader.

Mubarak is charged with complicity in the killing of more than 800 protesters during the uprising that toppled his 29-year regime last year.

The 83-year-old ailing Mubarak was brought by helicopter to the Cairo courthouse from a hospital where he is held in custody. He was then taken into the defendants' cage on a gurney, wearing dark sunglasses and covered by a green blanket.

Another Cairo court on Thursday acquitted five policemen of charges of killing five protesters in the capital's el-Sayedah Zeinab district during the Jan. 25-Feb. 11 uprising. The court said three of the defendants were not at the site of the killings while the other two fired on protesters in self defense.

The ruling angered families of the victims. Activists demanded that the killers be brought to justice and complained that similar cases are languishing in courts in several Egyptian cities.

On trial with Mubarak are his two sons, Gamal, his one-time heir apparent, and Alaa, along with the ousted leader's former security chief and six top police commanders. The Mubaraks face additional corruption charges in the same case.

The trial began Aug. 3 but has since been bogged down in procedural matters, including a demand by lawyers for the victims that the presiding judge, Ahmed Rifaat, be removed. That request alone took a separate court about three months to rule on.

Monday's hearing was adjourned until Tuesday, when the court is due to hear from the prosecution.

The acquittal of the police officers in el-Sayedah Zeinab and the relatively long time the Mubarak trial is taking before even starting to deal with the core of the charges against him have led many activists to brand the proceedings a farce, organized by the generals who took over power when the longtime leader was ousted.

The generals are led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak's defense minister for the last 20 years he spent in office.

The activists believe the generals remain beholden to the Mubarak regime, and only placed the former president and his two sons under arrest after mounting pressure by protesters. The Mubaraks were arrested in April, two months after the ouster of the regime. Activists believe this was long enough for the three to conceal evidence of their alleged involvement in either the killings or corruption.

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This video image taken from Egyptian State Television shows 83-year-old Hosni Mubarak laying on a hospital bed inside a cage of mesh and iron bars in a Cairo courtroom.

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This video image taken from Egyptian State Television shows 83-year-old Hosni Mubarak laying on a hospital bed inside a cage of mesh and iron bars in a Cairo courtroom.

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Comments

[bioluminescence]

09:51 PM on 01/03/2012

Exactly what kind of democracy and free election system are we promoting in the Middle East and elsewhere? Is it the kind that allows indefinite detention of citizens without trial? Have we returned to the Dark Ages? And if we feel so strongly about the principle why does it not apply to countries such as Saudi Arabia?

[onlitrade]

12:58 PM on 01/03/2012

What a joke. The people are suffering and they are spending unnecessary amounts of money on this trial to temporarily placate the population. Egyptians have the opportunity to start from scratch.
Introduce social reforms. Bring quality education, health services and equality for all and protect individual rights. The trial is nothing more than a sham.

[jrwest78]

01:47 AM on 01/03/2012

I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.

That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.

- War Criminal - Cairo, 2009

[Lavendar1]

10:41 AM on 01/03/2012

Well said. Some have commented on how unstable things are in Egypt right now and how long that instability may last, but at the end of the day democracies are always formed out of instability and discomfort. It is the price that is paid for the freedoms that come later. With that said, if the Egyptian people stand their ground they will have the truly representative and democratically elected government they want. You are so right, that is a basic human idea and human right, and not for anyone other than the Egyptians to control. As for Mubarak showing up at court on a gurney...looks like he's got a bad case of "Deposeditis". All deposed leaders get that when they are forced to take responsibility for their actions you know.

[Zork4]

12:53 PM on 01/03/2012

I take it you are calling the President a War Criminal. How so?

[be practical]

05:38 AM on 01/03/2012

If Jerusalem belongs to Palestine then Texas belongs to Mexico. Well, maybe you've got there.
Think it's time we return Texas to it's rightful owners.

[pauldamon]

12:15 PM on 01/03/2012

If you want the streets of the United States to look like the streets of
Mexico, keep talking like this.

[Zork4]

12:56 PM on 01/03/2012

Your proposal won't fly. There is a deal to be made but that isn't it. Jerusalem should be split, the West Bank should be cleared of settlers so a contiguous State can be created, but Israel isn't going anywhere and has a right to exist.

[MIKEinNYC]

11:01 PM on 01/02/2012

This bit with the stretcher, it reminds me of Vincent Gigante, the "oddfather".

[wwhatever747]

11:00 PM on 01/02/2012

Mubarak might have staged the attack in killing of the former President Sadat. See he wasn't close to death on that day. And now accused, he's gravely ill? All these years I knew he was a muderer monster in a sheep's cloth.

[Shomali]

10:00 PM on 01/02/2012

For some reason I really doubt this guy has been bed ridden since the last time he was in the court. Most probably he gets sick when he is about to go to the court.

[tallen]

08:30 PM on 01/02/2012

Tourism is down over 80%.
Crime is rampant. Garbage collection, never great, is nearly non existent. The (elected) Salafists are calling for a new "religious police".

In a year or two, the Egyptians will wistfully recall the good old days of the Mubarak regime.

[Heso]

09:33 PM on 01/02/2012

"Crime is rampant" - Correct
"Garbage collection, never great" - Correct, "is nearly non existent" - Not correct
"The (elected) Salafists are calling for a new "religious police"" - Not precisely, Salafists are not elected, Elnour party that is a Salafi political party is the "elected", and it didn't call for "religious police", other Salafi figures not elected and are not part of the Elnour party called for "religious police", in fact Elnour party is suing a group of salafists that related themselves to Elnour party and announced their intention to form a "religious police".

"In a year or two, the Egyptians will wistfully recall the good old days of the Mubarak regime."

More like past February , after the outset of Mubarak, a lot of citizens (mostly 40 and older) complained that the revolution had only brought crime, instability and unemployment among other things, and that's natural, but most of youth and younger people aren't and won't wish Mubarak comes back, cause to us, it is not just about changing the regime, it was/is about us as citizens and our neglected rights, so Egypt may not become stable or a true democracy soon, but that's ok, as long as we are standing for our rights, then we are walking in the right direction.

[Ali oops]

12:50 AM on 01/03/2012

Best wishes to you, Heso!

[Jeremy Venosta]

02:36 AM on 01/03/2012

Completely agree...the American Revolution was another one that had noteable and widespread conflict after it was "over"...f n' f

[BurtonDesque]

12:17 AM on 01/03/2012

Yeah, democracies always spring into being fully formed with little difficulty at all.

[FogBelter]

08:06 PM on 01/02/2012

What is it about corrupt leaders that fall out of favor and their health "issues"? Mubarak was healthy and filled with energy when he was tormenting his own people, now he is a basket case. Gloria Arroyo, former President of the Philippines, is under investigation for corruption now. When she was President she had all sorts of energy and appeared quite vigorous, and now every time I see her on the Philippine News she is in a wheelchair, with a surgical mask, wearing some kind of harness I would associate with a circus performer.

What is this malady that afflicts the deposed?

[mrdailydigger]

08:03 PM on 01/02/2012

I love it that he stays in bed for the whole thing. I wish it were like big brother and we could watch him 24/7 I bet hes not in bed. It would make for good TV when it came to getting to court.

[Thumbody]

07:59 PM on 01/02/2012

It appears to be fashionable to be wheeled into court on a gurney. Wonder if John Edwards will go in this way?

[Seattlecabdriver]

07:41 PM on 01/02/2012

What showman this guy is...

[CubnKira]

07:34 PM on 01/02/2012

Exactly how is Egypt better now with Mubarek gone after Obama threw a long time ally under the bus? Over 70% of the voters so far have voted for an Islamist party. Sharia Law is coming. Freedoms for women, gays and Christians, will be diminished, not increased.

[Thumbody]

08:00 PM on 01/02/2012

Democracy baby good old American democrarcy!

[billhodges]

08:39 PM on 01/02/2012

Seems the Progressives think it is OK for other people in other countries to lose rights, just not in their country. What is going to happen to the people in the Middle East is a rue travesty brought to you by good ole BHO

[BurtonDesque]

12:18 AM on 01/03/2012

How is moving towards having a functioning democracy losing rights? Egyptians have more rights now than they did under "King" Mubarak.

[JustinBiever]

07:07 PM on 01/02/2012

why arent bush and cheney being wheeled into court?

[Thumbody]

08:01 PM on 01/02/2012

They will have to use a cane nobody wants to wheel them in.

[wwhatever747]

11:04 PM on 01/02/2012

Re: It'll depend on the few citizen who is willing to take the LAW in their own hands on both of these guys. Our taxpayers are still paying for Bush and Chebey's secret service men at their residence and etc. Bush still draws large at or less than $480,000.00 in ex-Presidency pension. Hopefully Dick accidentally shoots himself as Karma reaches near him.

[Vuittondon13]

06:38 PM on 01/02/2012

Well if you wanted even more evidence of just how much FAIL Egypt's revolution has begotten there you have it! In my opinion Mubarak will get off lightly and eventually live out the rest of his days in comfort probably in Saudi or the UAE.