The Cairo Criminal Court is to reconvene on Monday for the third session in the trial of deposed President Hosni Mubarak, his two sons Alaa and Gamal, business tycoon Hussein Salem, who is under house arrest in Spain, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and six of his top aides.
The men are facing a wide array of charges, including the murder of demonstrators during the recent uprising, the export of gas to Israel at reduced prices, profiteering and the willful misappropriation of public funds.
Mubarak and Adly, whose cases have been merged, will again sit in the same cage throughout court proceedings. However, in line with a recent court ruling, the session will not be broadcast on television.
As with previous sessions, the court will convene at the Police Academy in Cairo, which will be secured by units of the Central Security Force, with army tanks placed around the area.
A security source told Al-Masry Al-Youm that police will place a cordon around the supporters of the former president, and another around his opponents, so as to avoid clashes between them. The police will also use sniffer dogs and metal detectors, and will place civil defense cars and ambulances outside the academy.
According to the source, Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, Adly and his six aides will be brought from Tora Prison at 6:30 AM, secured by 1000 police officers, four army tanks and three military armored vehicles.
The defense team has announced that it plans to accuse former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik and former Interior Minister Mahmoud Wagdy of being responsible for the attack on protesters in Tahrir Square on 2 February, later dubbed the "Battle of the Camel", and will request that the court include them in the case.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
