Hosni Mubarak, Muslim Brotherhood leaders have court hearings

CAIRO – In parallel trial sessions, Egyptian courts on Sunday heard cases against ousted President Hosni Mubarak and top leaders of his archrival, the Muslim Brotherhood, related to killings during the 2011 and 2013 protest campaigns that led to their respective downfalls.

The court trying Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie and five other members of the Islamist group postponed hearings until October 29. The defendants, two of whom are still in hiding and being tried in absentia, are accused in relation to clashes outside the Brotherhood’s Cairo headquarters on June 30 that left nine dead.

The four in detention were not present in the downtown Cairo courtroom for security reasons. They were arrested over the last month as part of a massive crackdown on the Brotherhood following the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, who hails from the group, and related violence.

At another courtroom in eastern Cairo, Mubarak looked relaxed in dark sunglasses and white clothes in his first court appearance since he was released from prison last week and transferred to a military hospital. The 85-year-old ex-president sat in a chair next to his two sons who face a separate corruption case.