Mubarak may face death penalty

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak pleaded not guilty of abuse of office, corruption and ordering the killing of protesters during February's uprising in a trial in Cairo on Wednesday, August 3.

The charge of ordering the killing of protesters carries the death penalty.

"I deny all those charges," Mubarak said. His two sons, Gamal and Alaa, who are being tried together with their father, also pleaded not guilty.

The 83-year-old former Egyptian leader arrived in court on a stretcher as a crowd consisting of opposition activists and his supporters gathered outside court, in the southeastern outskirts of Cairo.

The trial is seen by many Egyptians as a test of the military government's commitment to democratic reforms in the aftermath of the uprising that ended Mubarak's 29-year-old rule.

The court session is being broadcast live by the state TV channel. Along with Mubarak and his sons, former interior minister Habib El-Adly and other Mubarak-era officials are also facing charges.

Habib El-Adly's lawyer has denied the former interior minister's involvement in the killing of some 850 protesters on Cairo's Tahrir Square. "The defendant has nothing to do with these incidents," he said.

Some 9,000 police officers have been deployed at the Police Academy to ensure security during the trial, RIA Novosti reported.