Mubarak's appearance shifts spotlight from victims

By Nehal El-Sherif

  Cairo (dpa) - Many people believed he would not attend the trial on Wednesday, but few minutes before 8 GMT he was carried on a hospital bed into a specially set metal cage, wearing the white prison uniform.


 He was the last to enter after the other nine defendants. It was the first time former Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak was seen in public since he was ousted by an uprising in February.

  The trial is a historical moment for many, being the first time that an Egyptian leader was being tried by his own people.

  Wednesday witnessed the first session of two trials for charges of involvement in killing protesters during the January 25 revolution, where some 850 people were killed and 6,000 injured.

One case is against ex-interior minister Habib al-Adli and the six police officials. The other is against Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, as well as businessman Hussein Salem, who escaped outside the country and was recently arrested in Spain. Defendants in the second case also face corruption charges.

  The trial is held in Hall 1 in the Police Academy, on the outskirts of Cairo. The academy was known for years as the Mubarak Academy.

  Tight measures were taken outside and inside the hall. Members of the security forces were sitting at each end of each bench in the hall. Moreover, at least 100 plain-clothed security forces were sitting in the hall to separate between attendees and the cage.

  However, with seven screens set up in the hall, it was not hard for people to see Mubarak, who was lying on the bed with two people in plain clothes standing behind, who appeared to be paramedics.

  But Mubarak's sons seemed to be trying to shield their father from cameras by standing in front of him. Sometimes, the ousted president covered his face with his arm.

  Later on, screens stopped focusing on the cell, and the defendants were not visible as before, causing confusion among TV viewers. It was not until he spoke to deny the charges that people were at ease once more.

  'I completely deny all these charges,' Mubarak, 83, told the court, as he moved his hand slowly. 


  Alaa and Gamal Mubarak also denied all charges.

 Such humiliation for the ailing president who ruled the Arab world's most populous country seemed to rule sentiments among many Egyptians, who were able to watch the session live on state television.

 But for some, Mubarak looked better than they expected, after reports saying he refused to eat for days, and that his psychological condition was bad.

 'He seems good enough to shave his beard and dye his hair,' said a father of one of those who died in the revolution.

 But while hundreds were busy looking for Mubarak, lawyers of the plaintiffs were angry that their clients were not allowed in the room.

 'Is this how they organize a public trial? I am not proud of this,' lawyer Khaled Abou Bakr told reporters in the break when the court has adjourned for deliberation.

 'How come the victims cannot enter?' he said, while pointing to empty benches in the hall. 'It reminds me of the conferences of (Mubarak's) National Democratic Party.'

 Lawyers said hundreds of victims were standing outside and were not allowed to enter. Even some lawyers of the plaintiffs were not allowed a permit.

 'Lawyers for six defendants are more than lawyers defending hundreds of the revolution's victims,' said Human Rights Lawyer Gamal Eid, also the director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

 Although the opening session was mainly for regular measures, thousands of Egyptians were relieved to see Mubarak behind the cell's iron black bars.