Mubarak is the first head of state overthrown during a wave of uprisings in the Arab world to appear in court and the TV coverage has gripped audiences across the Middle East. A public trial was a key demand of protesters who had camped in Cairo’s Tahrir Square for weeks in July to press for a swift hearing.
“Preposterous!” said Sherif Mohamed, an engineer who was watching the trial outside the court building in Cairo. “The case is necessary for public opinion. Not airing it live means there is a deal with Mubarak.”
“To Tahrir — that is where I am going now. People power is stronger than people in power,” said Mohamed Ali, 35.
Mubarak stands accused of authorising the use of live ammunition to shoot protesters, of corruption and abuse of power. Judge Ahmed Refaat ordered the trial be merged with that of Mubarak’s Interior Minister Habib al-Adli and six others who face similar charges in order to streamline the processes.
Supporters and opponents of Mubarak threw stones at each other and fist fights erupted near the court, set up in a police academy building in a Cairo suburb, as Mubarak flew in by helicopter for the second day of his trial and was wheeled into the courtroom’s steel cage on a hospital bed.
The crowd lunged forward as Mubarak arrived and his supporters hurled stones at a group of protesters who demanded the death penalty for the 83-year-old.
The crowd broke through a cordon formed by hundreds of riot police and the Mubarak supporters chased their opponents away from the court building. One protester attacked a policeman. Then police jumped on him and beat him.