Two protagonists of Egypt’s recent history faced each other in court on Wednesday, with toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak testifying for the first time against the Muslim Brotherhood’s jailed former president, Mohammed Mursi.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak testifies during a court case accusing ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi of breaking out of prison in 2011, in Cairo, Egypt, December 26, 2018.
Mubarak, 90, gave evidence for an hour and a half at the high-security prison complex in southern Cairo where Mursi is detained. Wearing a dark suit and using a walking stick, he was escorted into the courtroom by his two sons.
Mursi was dressed in prison overalls and seated in a thick glass and metal cage running down one side of the courtroom, like other senior figures of the Brotherhood who are defendants in the case.
About 30 relatives, mostly women, stood up to mouth and signal messages to the defendants at the beginning and end of the court session.
The hearing was part of a retrial in which Mursi and others are accused of orchestrating prison breaks and breaches of Egypt’s eastern border during the uprising that forced Mubarak from power in February 2011.
A visibly frail Mubarak, who was given a chair at the witness stand due to his age, was asked dozens of questions by the judge about security developments as the uprising against his 30-year rule gathered pace.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak testifies during a court case accusing ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi of breaking out of prison in 2011, in Cairo, Egypt, December 26, 2018.
Mubarak, 90, gave evidence for an hour and a half at the high-security prison complex in southern Cairo where Mursi is detained. Wearing a dark suit and using a walking stick, he was escorted into the courtroom by his two sons.
Mursi was dressed in prison overalls and seated in a thick glass and metal cage running down one side of the courtroom, like other senior figures of the Brotherhood who are defendants in the case.
About 30 relatives, mostly women, stood up to mouth and signal messages to the defendants at the beginning and end of the court session.
The hearing was part of a retrial in which Mursi and others are accused of orchestrating prison breaks and breaches of Egypt’s eastern border during the uprising that forced Mubarak from power in February 2011.
A visibly frail Mubarak, who was given a chair at the witness stand due to his age, was asked dozens of questions by the judge about security developments as the uprising against his 30-year rule gathered pace.
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