Mubarak not likely to be at trial opening
Ousted Egyptian leader said to be ill
CAIRO – Egypt was bracing Tuesday for the start of its trial of the century even as the most anticipated defendant – toppled former President Hosni Mubarak – was likely to be a no-show for what Egyptian officials said were health reasons.
Mubarak, the 83-year-old former air force pilot who ruled Egypt with an iron fist for 30 years until a bloody, 18-day revolution forced him out in February, is due to face charges today along with 10 others, including his two sons, of stealing public funds and conspiring to kill protesters.
Demonstrators have demanded that Mubarak and top members of his former regime be prosecuted, and the mere picture of one of the Arab world’s biggest strongmen standing in the defendants’ specially constructed steel cage at the courtroom at Cairo’s police academy would be a stunning moment in the region’s history.
“I want to see Mubarak standing trial. He and his government members should be punished for what they did to us,” said Hamdy Khalaf, a farmer whose cousin, 15-year-old Abdalla Shehata, died a few months after receiving a bullet to the skull amid demonstrations on Jan. 19. “They killed my cousin, and they should be prosecuted just like any criminal accused of murder.”
Although Egyptian health officials say that Mubarak, who is being treated at a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for ailments that officials even now won’t disclose, is in stable condition and transporting him to Cairo for trial poses no threat to his health, several Egyptian officials said the former president won’t appear for at least the start of the trial.
Several lawyers of victims of the revolution violence expressed concern that Mubarak’s no-show could lead to more instability.
“I am worried about his absence. It could trigger angry protests by the families of the victims,” said Ahmed Atta, a lawyer who represents 13 victims’ families.
As Mubarak remained holed up in Sharm el-Sheikh, protests have continued in the six months since his resignation, with many demonstrators demanding punishment for any member of his regime who was involved in the shootings of protesters. Mubarak, his sons and fugitive tycoon Hussein Salem are accused of plotting with former Interior Minister Habib el Adly and senior police officials to cause the deaths of more than 850 protesters and injuries to some 8,000 others in brutal confrontations with police officers.
The trial could divide Egypt between those eager to see the former president face justice and others who don’t want to witness a sick old man humiliated.