The “historic” prosecution's case in the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak is set to conclude Thursday.
Mubarak, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and six of Adly's assistants are charged with involvement in killing protesters during the 25 January uprising, while Mubarak, his sons Alaa and Gamal, and businessman Hussein Salem are being tried on corruption charges. They are being tried at the Cairo Criminal Court.
On Tuesday, the prosecution demanded the court sentence Mubarak to death for his alleged crimes.
Prosecution lawyers were greeted with warm applause by the court Thursday for their performance in pleading the plantiffs' case. They have sought to prove that Mubarak, Adly, and Adly's six assistants were involved in killing protesters and provided evidence to support this claim.
Lead prosecutor Mostafa Suleiman said Wednesday that the Interior Ministry and National Security Agency had not assisted in the prosecution's investigations or provided any evidence for it build its case. The prosecution had to collect evidence and conduct investigations on its own as a result, he added.
The prosecution said that it took testimonies from 2,000 witnesses, including police officers who discussed orders from above to arm police with automatic rifles and shotguns to use against protesters. It also screened videos allegedly showing policemen shooting protesters and running them over with vehicles.
Mubarak is the first Arab leader to be brought to trial as a result of the uprisings beginning in early 2011 that have come to be known as the Arab Spring. His and the others' hearing began on 13 August following a wave of protests urging the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to put him on trial.
SCAF head Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi served as defense minister under Mubarak. Tantawi testified for the trial in a closed court session, following a judge's order. Mubarak loyalists contend that he did not implicate Mubarak in his testimony.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
