Egypt's ousted leader Mubarak arrives in court for retrial

CAIRO - Agence France-Presse

An image grab taken from Egyptian state TV shows ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak sitting behind bars during his retrial at the Police Academy in Cairo on May 11. AFP PHOTO/EGYPTIAN TV

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak appeared in court on May 11 to face a new trial for complicity in the murder of hundreds protesters during the 2011 uprising, as well as for corruption.

The 85-year-old Mubarak - who is facing trial along with his two sons, his former interior minister and six security chiefs - was taken into court in a wheelchair, dressed in white and wearing sunglasses.

Amid a raucous start to proceedings, lawyers for the victims' families taunted Mubarak's sons, Alaa and Gamal, as they stood in the dock with chants of "The people want the execution of the murderer." But the Mubaraks appeared unfazed by the chants.

Outside the court, a handful of victims' families and Mubarak supporters had turned up amid a heavy security presence.

Sanaa Said, who lost her 20-year-old son during the uprising, said she will keep fighting for justice, though like many, she has become dispirited by the process.

"I am clinging on to hope even though I think if the trial were real, we would have seen a result," by now, she told AFP.

A few metres away, Nagah Mubarak held up a sign that read "Freedom for the President." "I'm very worried about him," said Mubarak, who is not related.

Mubarak was granted a retrial after his appeal against a life sentence was accepted due to procedural failings the first time round.

The retrial was meant to begin on April 13, but the judge in that instance recused himself in a hearing that lasted just seconds.