Interior Minister Mansour al-Essawy on Wednesday testified before court in the case of the killing of demonstrators during the 25 January revolution, in which ousted President Hosni Mubarak, his two sons, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and six of his aides are accused.
Essawy’s testimony lasted three and a half hours, during which he answered 35 questions posed by the judges, the prosecution and the defense teams, mostly about the snipers and orders to attack the demonstrators.
The court issued a gag order of the testimony for reasons of "national security", preventing the Egyptian media from reporting on the actual testimony given.
Before entering the court, Essawy inspected the Police Academy, where the court is being convened.
Accompanied by his doctors, Mubarak was flown to the academy from the International Medical Center, where he is being kept under arrest. He was lying on a bed, wearing a light blue tracksuit, and seemed in good health.
The rest of the defendants were brought from Torra Prison amid heavy security.
Calm prevailed outside the court, as only 20 of Mubarak supporters and opponents had gathered in front of the building.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
