Mubarak retrial judge spares himself embarrassment and withdraws from case

Mubarak retrial judge spares
himself embarrassment and withdraws from case
Head judge Mostafa Hassan Abdallah tells court he will send
case to Court of Appeal, which will then refer trial to new circuit.


Lot of
doubt prevents judge from conducting trial

Middle East Online CAIRO: The judge in the retrial
of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak recused himself on Saturday, in a chaotic opening
hearing that lasted just seconds and saw a proud and combative Mubarak smile and
wave in the dock.
Head judge Mostafa Hassan Abdallah told the court
he would send the case to the Court of Appeal, which will then refer the trial
to a new circuit, sending the fate of the ousted strongman back to square
one.
As the judges filed out of the courtroom, uproar
erupted with people shouting and waving their arms. Civil society lawyers
attending the trial chanted: "The people want the execution of the
president."
In October, the same judge had acquitted the
defendants in the infamous "Battle of the Camels" trial, who were accused of
sending men on camels and horses to break up a protest during the 2011 uprising
that toppled Mubarak.
Mubarak, his former interior minister Habib
al-Adly and six security chiefs were again in the dock -- albeit briefly -- for
their alleged complicity in the murder and attempted murder of hundreds of
peaceful protesters on January 25-31, 2011.
This judge and this circuit acquitted all the
defendants in the battle of the camels and there is a lot of doubt over their
position. This prevents him from conducting this trial," said Amir Salem, a
lawyer for the families of victims.
Months of rumours that Mubarak was in a coma or
too weak to attend his retrial were put to rest on Saturday as the former leader
seemed healthy and strong as he sat in the defendants' cage, smiling and waving
to supporters.
We love you, big man!" a handful of his
supporters yelled at him.
His sons Alaa and Gamal, who are also facing a new
trial for corruption, also appeared to be in good spirits as they smiled and
chatted to their father.
Earlier on Saturday, television footage showed
Mubarak wheeled out of an ambulance on a stretcher and taken into the capital's
Police Academy in a Cairo suburb for the hearing.
A handful of supporters outside the courthouse
held up posters of their former leader, chanting: "Where are the days of
Mubarak?" but they were outnumbered by security personnel.
Mubarak was flown to the academy that was once
named after him by helicopter from the Cairo military hospital where he is being
treated, the official MENA news agency said. He left the compound the same
way.
His original trial in August 2011 was a major
moment for both Egypt and the region, being the first time an Arab leader
deposed by his people had appeared in court in person.
Gamal and Alaa Mubarak, once symbols of Egyptian
power and wealth, also faced retrial on corruption charges. Another defendant,
business tycoon Hussein Salem, was to be tried in absentia.
Mubarak, who turns 85 in May, has suffered several
health scares and MENA even reported him clinically dead at one point as he
slipped into a coma.
In January, Egypt's highest court, the Court of
Cassation, ordered a retrial for Mubarak after accepting an appeal against his
life sentence, citing procedural failings.
Legal experts said the original case verged on the
farcical, with patchwork evidence and prosecution witnesses exonerating the
defendants.
Adly had also been sentenced to life for
involvement in the deaths of protesters, but controversially his security chiefs
were acquitted, sparking widespread anger and protests after last June's
verdict.
President Mohamed Morsi, who won elections that
same month on the Muslim Brotherhood's ticket, had pledged new trials for former
regime officials including Mubarak.
But until Saturday's courtroom turmoil, the fate
of the ousted strongman has been largely eclipsed by deadly violence and
economic woes currently gripping Egypt.
Morsi's presidency has been plagued by unrest and
deadly clashes between protesters and police, a revolt in the canal cities,
sectarian violence and a devastating economic crisis.
The country is largely unlikely to pay attention
to the trial," said H.A. Hellyer, a non-resident fellow at the Brookings
Institution, ahead of Saturday's hearing.
There is the potential that the ruling party use
the trial to deflect attention from the problems they are facing," he
said.
Despite the fact that what happens to Mubarak had
seemed of little relevance to many, there is still widespread anger over no one
yet being held accountable for nearly 900 deaths during the 18-day uprising in
2011.
Mubarak's epic fall, from dictatorial head of the
Arab world's most populous nation to a defendant behind bars, was for many a
promising sign the revolution which toppled him was on the right
track.