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| Hosni Mubarak retrial to begin on Saturday | Hosni Mubarak retrial to begin on Saturday |
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| The retrial of Egypt's ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak, on charges of corruption and complicity in the murder of protesters during the 2011 uprising that forced him from power, is due to begin on Saturday. For many, the case has a frustrating sense of deja vu. Mubarak, below right, was sentenced to life imprisonment on the same charges last June, with his interior minister, Habib el-Adly. But he was granted a retrial in January after a Cairo court agreed that the prosecution's original case was poorly prepared. | The retrial of Egypt's ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak, on charges of corruption and complicity in the murder of protesters during the 2011 uprising that forced him from power, is due to begin on Saturday. For many, the case has a frustrating sense of deja vu. Mubarak, below right, was sentenced to life imprisonment on the same charges last June, with his interior minister, Habib el-Adly. But he was granted a retrial in January after a Cairo court agreed that the prosecution's original case was poorly prepared. |
| The new trial will reopen old wounds, especially after documents leaked this week to the Guardian revealed the scale of torture and killings by forces loyal to Mubarak during the uprising that ousted him. | The new trial will reopen old wounds, especially after documents leaked this week to the Guardian revealed the scale of torture and killings by forces loyal to Mubarak during the uprising that ousted him. |
| But the case is not expected to stir the same heightened level of emotion as the proceedings last year. Mubarak's June conviction was a turning point for Egypt, and sparked pandemonium outside the court in east Cairo in which he was tried. Ten months on, reactions are likely to be more muted. | But the case is not expected to stir the same heightened level of emotion as the proceedings last year. Mubarak's June conviction was a turning point for Egypt, and sparked pandemonium outside the court in east Cairo in which he was tried. Ten months on, reactions are likely to be more muted. |
| "There is definitely a sense that the situation now is very different from back then," said Prof Khaled Fahmy, head of history at the American University in Cairo, and a well-known Egyptian columnist. "Last year, I stood in front of the court of Mubarak's trial. If the retrial was happening tomorrow, I would not go. Last year, everyone was waiting. It set a precedent, and it was a very, very significant move in Egyptian history. Now, we have already seen him behind bars. It's not that he's been forgotten, but it has become less of an issue." | "There is definitely a sense that the situation now is very different from back then," said Prof Khaled Fahmy, head of history at the American University in Cairo, and a well-known Egyptian columnist. "Last year, I stood in front of the court of Mubarak's trial. If the retrial was happening tomorrow, I would not go. Last year, everyone was waiting. It set a precedent, and it was a very, very significant move in Egyptian history. Now, we have already seen him behind bars. It's not that he's been forgotten, but it has become less of an issue." |
| In Mubarak's stead, many Egyptians now see a new bugbear: the Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, who some feel has as strong an authoritarian streak as his predecessor. Egypt also now faces a breakdown in law and order, a crackdown on free expression, an increase in sectarian tensions and a collapsing economy. | In Mubarak's stead, many Egyptians now see a new bugbear: the Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, who some feel has as strong an authoritarian streak as his predecessor. Egypt also now faces a breakdown in law and order, a crackdown on free expression, an increase in sectarian tensions and a collapsing economy. |
| The documents leaked this week revealed the scale of atrocities under not just Mubarak but the military dictatorship that followed his rule – underscoring the fact that malpractice in contemporary Egypt is not limited to one man. | The documents leaked this week revealed the scale of atrocities under not just Mubarak but the military dictatorship that followed his rule – underscoring the fact that malpractice in contemporary Egypt is not limited to one man. |
| Comparative indifference to the trial may also stem from pessimism about the strength of the state's case against Mubarak and his cronies. When their retrial was announced, campaigners partly welcomed the decision as an opportunity to mount a stronger case against both Mubarak and the police chiefs who were tried alongside him and Adly. Unlike Mubarak, his deputies were acquitted – much to the anger of most Egyptians. | Comparative indifference to the trial may also stem from pessimism about the strength of the state's case against Mubarak and his cronies. When their retrial was announced, campaigners partly welcomed the decision as an opportunity to mount a stronger case against both Mubarak and the police chiefs who were tried alongside him and Adly. Unlike Mubarak, his deputies were acquitted – much to the anger of most Egyptians. |
| In particular, campaigners were hopeful that the findings of a newly completed fact-finding report about the events of the uprising – commissioned personally by Morsi – would be investigated by state prosecutors, and then used to bolster the case against Mubarak. According to researchers familiar with the drafting of the report, interviewed by the Guardian, it documents compelling evidence that Mubarak watched the events of the uprising via a video link. It is also said to include evidence of senior officials' complicity in the decision to shoot at protesters. Part of tThe report was leaked to the Guardian earlier this week, and heavily implicates the army in atrocities during the revolution. Campaigners had hoped that still unpublished sections would further bolster the case against Mubarak. | In particular, campaigners were hopeful that the findings of a newly completed fact-finding report about the events of the uprising – commissioned personally by Morsi – would be investigated by state prosecutors, and then used to bolster the case against Mubarak. According to researchers familiar with the drafting of the report, interviewed by the Guardian, it documents compelling evidence that Mubarak watched the events of the uprising via a video link. It is also said to include evidence of senior officials' complicity in the decision to shoot at protesters. Part of tThe report was leaked to the Guardian earlier this week, and heavily implicates the army in atrocities during the revolution. Campaigners had hoped that still unpublished sections would further bolster the case against Mubarak. |
| But the early optimism about Saturday's case, and the role that might be played by this newfound evidence, has almost entirely faded. Morsi reacted to some of the allegations made by the leaked report against the army by promoting three generals this week to honorific titles – a move that epitomises his administration's apparent wish to brush the report's findings under the carpet."We don't see any prospects from the retrial," said Gamal Eid, a prominent human-rights campaigner and the lawyer for the families of 14 people who died during Egypt's 18-day uprising, who said that the prosecution simply had not worked hard enough on its investigation over the past year. | But the early optimism about Saturday's case, and the role that might be played by this newfound evidence, has almost entirely faded. Morsi reacted to some of the allegations made by the leaked report against the army by promoting three generals this week to honorific titles – a move that epitomises his administration's apparent wish to brush the report's findings under the carpet."We don't see any prospects from the retrial," said Gamal Eid, a prominent human-rights campaigner and the lawyer for the families of 14 people who died during Egypt's 18-day uprising, who said that the prosecution simply had not worked hard enough on its investigation over the past year. |
| "The trial is a hoax, it's all fixed," said Hanan Muhammad, the sister of Karim Muhammad, a protester who died in Alexandria on 28 January 2011. "We're not happy with the performance of the prosecution. We're not even happy with our lawyers." | "The trial is a hoax, it's all fixed," said Hanan Muhammad, the sister of Karim Muhammad, a protester who died in Alexandria on 28 January 2011. "We're not happy with the performance of the prosecution. We're not even happy with our lawyers." |
| "I'm almost certain that the report won't be taken into account," agreed one of the researchers on the suppressed fact-finding report. "They [the prosecution] know witnesses and army generals were in a hotel that overlooks Tahrir Square – and even they have not been approached. If living witnesses are not even being interviewed, what would make them investigate this report?" | "I'm almost certain that the report won't be taken into account," agreed one of the researchers on the suppressed fact-finding report. "They [the prosecution] know witnesses and army generals were in a hotel that overlooks Tahrir Square – and even they have not been approached. If living witnesses are not even being interviewed, what would make them investigate this report?" |
| Some campaigners are also concerned about the involvement of Moustafa Hassan Abdallah, the judge who will preside over the case. Abdallah previously adjudicated in the controversial prosecution of 24 officials allegedly involved in the battle of the camel, a clash between revolutionaries and the regime in 2011. Abdallah acquitted them all. | Some campaigners are also concerned about the involvement of Moustafa Hassan Abdallah, the judge who will preside over the case. Abdallah previously adjudicated in the controversial prosecution of 24 officials allegedly involved in the battle of the camel, a clash between revolutionaries and the regime in 2011. Abdallah acquitted them all. |
| Others fear that Mubarak's defence will successfully argue that the treatment of protesters by the Morsi regime in 2013 validates the Mubarak regime's behaviour in 2011. Meanwhile, lawyers say the prosecution has partly been hamstrung by an obstreperous police force that would prefer to drag its feet than help incriminate its own leaders. "The police should have been collecting evidence and the prosecution should have been investigating," explained one lawyer familiar with the case. "But the police did not do their job properly and the prosecution was forced to do both jobs and they didn't do either very well." Earlier this week, a trial of policemen accused of killing protesters in Suez during the revolution gave a worrying taste of what may be to come on Saturday. The prosecutors in the case showed a video of alleged malpractice outside a Suez police station in 2011. When asked by the defence lawyers, they were not able to say which station it was. "Do you mean that the public prosecutor is presenting video evidence," shouted the police lawyer, "and they don't know what it's of?"•Additional reporting by Mowaffaq Safadi | Others fear that Mubarak's defence will successfully argue that the treatment of protesters by the Morsi regime in 2013 validates the Mubarak regime's behaviour in 2011. Meanwhile, lawyers say the prosecution has partly been hamstrung by an obstreperous police force that would prefer to drag its feet than help incriminate its own leaders. "The police should have been collecting evidence and the prosecution should have been investigating," explained one lawyer familiar with the case. "But the police did not do their job properly and the prosecution was forced to do both jobs and they didn't do either very well." Earlier this week, a trial of policemen accused of killing protesters in Suez during the revolution gave a worrying taste of what may be to come on Saturday. The prosecutors in the case showed a video of alleged malpractice outside a Suez police station in 2011. When asked by the defence lawyers, they were not able to say which station it was. "Do you mean that the public prosecutor is presenting video evidence," shouted the police lawyer, "and they don't know what it's of?"•Additional reporting by Mowaffaq Safadi |
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