Hosni Mubarak, who governed Egypt for 30 years before a popular uprising toppled him last year, returns to court on Saturday, June 2, to hear a judge rule on whether he is guilty of graft and complicity in the killing of protesters, Reuters reports.

"Day of the verdict for the pharaoh," wrote the Al-Watan newspaper in a front-page headline, a reference to Mubarak who was often called a modern version of Egypt's ancient rulers.

Hundreds of police surrounded the court set up at a police academy on Cairo's outskirts. Protesters held images of those killed in the uprising and calling for Mubarak's execution. "Dear God, take Mubarak and those with him!" they chanted.

If convicted, the 84-year-old former president could face anything from a few years in jail to the death penalty.

The verdict could herald more political turmoil, although Judge Ahmed Refaat, who has already had three months to consider his decision, could postpone it if he needs more time.

An acquittal or a light sentence could send protesters back on the streets. Many are already angry that the hated police force, blamed for about 850 deaths in the uprising, and other pillars of Mubarak's rule have survived his downfall intact.

A conviction would prompt demands for Mubarak to be transferred to prison from the hospital where he has been held in custody. The other defendants, who include his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, his former interior minister Habib al-Adli and six senior security officials, have been held in a Cairo jail.