Retrial of Hosni Mubarak to include new evidence

Egyptian prosecutors say they are presenting new evidence from a fact-finding committee’s report in the retrial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Mubarak, all in white and wearing sunglasses, attended a hearing Saturday in the Cairo courtroom defendants’ cage alongside his two sons Gamal and Alaa and a former interior minister, Habib el-Adli, who was in charge of police at the time of the 2011 revolt against Mubarak’s rule.

All pleaded not guilty to the various charges, which include allegations of involvement in the deaths of 900 protesters during the 18-day revolution, as well as corruption and exporting gas to Israel below fair market value. Proceedings adjourned after three hours and will resume on June 8.

In June 2012, Mubarak received a life sentence for complicity in the killings during the uprising which led to his ouster, but was granted a retrial in January on appeal following procedural irregularities found in the initial trial.

The retrial was supposed to begin last month but judge Mustafa Hassan Abdullah suddenly recused himself citing “unease” and referring the case to the Cairo Appeal Court.

The trial is being held at a police academy near Cairo and is broadcast live on Egypt State TV.

Egypt’s highest appeals court on Wednesday upheld the acquittals of 24 loyalists of Mubarak who were tried for having organized a medieval-style attack in which the ex-president’s supporters riding camels and horses attacked anti-government demonstrators, a pivotal moment in the country’s 2011 uprising.

The decision by Judge Hamed Abdullah of the Court of Cassation raised calls for new investigations into the so-called “Battle of the Camel” on Feb. 2, 2011 in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, The attack set off clashes that lasted into the next day and left nearly a dozen dead.

AP contributed to this report.