The spectacle, aired live on state television, was a stunning moment for Egyptians,
many of whom savoured the humiliation of the man who ruled with
unquestionable power for 29 years. After widespread scepticism that Egypt's
military rulers would allow it, the scene went a long way to satisfy one of
the key demands that has united protesters since Feb. 11, when Mubarak fell
following an 18-day uprising.
"This is the dream of Egyptians, to see him like this, humiliated like
he humiliated them for the last 30 years," said Ghada Ali, the mother
of a 17-year old girl in the city of Alexandria who was shot to death during
the crackdown.
"I want to see their heart explode like my daughter's heart exploded
from their single bullet," Ali told The Associated Press, breaking down
in sobs.
It was the first time Egyptians have seen Mubarak since Feb. 10, when he gave
a defiant TV address refusing to resign.
In the courtroom, a prosecutor read the charges against Mubarak - that he was
an accomplice along with this then-interior minister in the "intentional
and premeditated murder of peaceful protesters" and that he and his
sons received gifts from a prominent businessman in return for guaranteeing
him a lowered price in a land deal with the state.
"Yes, I am here," Mubarak said from his bed, raising his hand
slightly when the judge asked him to identify himself and enter a plea. "I
deny all these accusations completely," he said into a microphone,
wagging his finger.
A crowd of Mubarak supporters and hundreds of relatives of slain protesters
and other Mubarak opponents massed at the gates, scuffling sporadically.
They threw stones and bottles at each other while riot police with shields
and helmets tried to keep them apart. About 50 supporters pounded on the
steel gate trying to get into the compound, chanting "We Love you,
Mubarak!" until police charged at the with electrified batons and
dispersed them.
At the session's start, Mubarak, a sheet pulled up to his chest, was wheeled
on a hospital bed into the defendant's cage, made of iron bars and a metal
mesh. Though he was pale and his eyes were ringed with red, he appeared
alert and aware of what was going on. He showed little discernible emotion.
With him in the cage were his nine co-defendants, including his two sons -
one-time heir apparent Gamal and wealthy businessman Alaa - his former
interior minister Habib el-Adly, and six top former police officials.
From time to time, Mubarak craned his head to see the proceedings. Other
times, he crooked his elbow over his face as if in exhaustion. While the
other defendants sat on wooden benches in the cage, Gamal and Alaa in their
white prison uniforms stood next to their father's bed, at one point with
their arms crossed on their chest seemingly trying to block the court
camera's view of their father. The two sons each carried a copy of the Koran
and leant over to talk tot heir father.
Defendants are traditionally held in cages during trials in Egypt. About an
hour after the session began, there was a recess and the defendants were led
out of the cage. Much of the session dealt with procedural matters, as the
three-judge panel officially took the names of the lawyers involved in the
case and heard motions from them.
Up to the last minute, many Egyptians had doubted that Mubarak would actually
appear at the trial. It was inconceivable that the man who vowed to rule the
country until his last breath and who kept a near total grip on the levers
of power, whose name once crowned public buildings around the country, could
actually be brought to trial.
The scepticism remain up until the moment early Wednesday when Mubarak was
taken from his hospital room in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to a
military plane that flew him to a military airport in Cairo. From there, he
was transferred by helicopter to the police academy where the trial was
held.
An official told state news agency MENA that Mubarak will stay at a hospital
within the police academy compound during the trial to ensure that he
attends the sessions. Mubarak has been living in Sharm since he was ousted
and has been under arrest in a hospital there since April, reportedly
suffering from heart problems. Doctors have reported that he is growing
increasingly depressed.
Mostafa el-Naggar, one of the leading youth activists who organised the
anti-Mubarak uprising, called it "a moment no Egyptian ever thought was
possible."
"I have many feelings. I am happy, satisfied. I feel this a real success
for the revolution, and I feel that the moment of real retribution is near,"
he said.
The courtroom itself was divided. Relatives of the defendants sat in rows of
seats near the defendants cage, made of iron bars and mesh. A fence running
through the middle of the chamber divided them from the rest of the audience
of around 300 people, including a few relatives of protesters killed in the
uprising, kept far enough that they cannot shout or throw anything at the
former leader.
The Mubarak supporters outside were furious over the humiliation of their
former leader, throwing stones at the screen showing the session.
"We will demolish and burn the prison if they convict Mubarak,"
they screamed at hundreds of police and army troops backed by armoured
personnel carriers.
"He is our president and he is going to be found innocent," said
one woman in the crowd, Tahami Luteifi.
The trial came only after heavy pressure by activists on the now ruling
military - one of the few demands that still unites the disparate protest
movement. It answers, at least partially, a growing clamour in Egypt for
justice not only for the wrongs of Mubarak's authoritarian regime but also
for the violent suppression of the largely peaceful uprising, in which 850
protesters were killed.
In February, as protests raged around him, Mubarak vowed he would die on
Egyptian soil. The last time Egyptians saw him, he appeared on state TV,
handing most of his powers to his vice president but refusing to resign. He
proclaimed he was "adamant to continue to shoulder my responsibility."
The next day, his resignation was announced and Mubarak fled to a palatial
residence in Sharm el-Sheikh. The ruling generals who took power from him -
and who were all appointed by Mubarak before the uprising - appeared
reluctant to prosecute him, but protests flared anew, pressuring action.
In April, Mubarak was moved to a Sharm el-Sheikh hospital and put under arrest
while his sons and former cronies were held in Cairo's Torah Prison.
The prosecution is an unprecedented moment in the Arab world, the first time a
modern Mideast leader has been put on trial fully by his own people.
The closest event to it was former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's trial, but
his capture came at the hands of U.S. troops in 2003 and his special
tribunal was set up with extensive consultation with American officials and
international experts. Tunisia's deposed president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali,
has been tried and convicted several times since his fall several weeks
before Mubarak's, but all in absentia as he remains in exile in Saudi
Arabia.
Mubarak, el-Adly, and six top police officers are charged in connection with
the killings of protesters. All eight could face the death penalty if
convicted. The charge sheet said that Mubarak "allowed (el-Adly) to use
live ammunition" in the crackdown on protesters.
Separately, Mubarak and his two sons face charges of corruption. According to
the prosecutors, the father and sons received five villas worth nearly $7
million from prominent businessman Hussein Salem in return for using their
influence to get him a lower price for state land to build a resort complex
in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Near Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the protesters, a dozen people swarmed
around newspapers at a stand, reading headlines about the trial. One man
spit on a picture of Mubarak on a front page.
"When he is in the cage and we know he is there, then we know we have
started to put our feet on the path of justice," said the newspaper
seller, Nabil Hassan, 65. "If he and his accomplices are in court, he
becomes one of the people no different from anyone else facing justice. I
have faith in Egyptian judges."
