The trial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak resumed yesterday amid tight security, reports Gamal Essam El-Din The trial of Hosni Mubarak resumed yesterday at east Cairo's Police Academy after a three-month delay. More than 5,000 security personnel and at least 50 military vehicles were deployed to secure the court and transfer the prisoners, including the former president's two sons. The trial was halted after lawyers representing families of the victims of the 25 January Revolution accused presiding judge Ahmed Refaat of bias towards the Mubarak family and of preventing them from questioning high-profile witnesses including Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) head Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi; former chief of intelligence Omar Suleiman and former interior ministers Mahmoud Wagdi and Mansour Eissawi. The lawyers filed a motion with Cairo's Court of Appeal (CCA) asking for Refaat to be replaced which was rejected on 7 December. Mubarak, his sons Alaa and Gamal and business associate Hussein Salem are accused of exploiting their positions to amass personal fortunes. Mubarak, former interior minister Habib El-Adli and six senior police officers also face charges of ordering security personnel to fire on peaceful protesters during the early days of the 25 January Revolution. The attacks resulted in the deaths of 860 unarmed demonstrators. In his testimony Tantawi said that as minister of defence he never received orders from Mubarak to open fire on protesters. Suleiman told the court that, "security forces were mobilised only after armed gangs attacked them and began to set fire to the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party [NDP]". The court had been due to hear the testimony of SCAF's deputy chairman and Chief of Staff Sami Anan before hearings were adjourned. Mubarak's lawyer Farid El-Deeb insists "the wealth of Mubarak's two sons Alaa and Gamal was secured from legal activities." Assem El-Gohari, head of the Illicit Gains Office which is affiliated to the Ministry of Justice, said on 17 October that investigations revealed Mubarak's two sons had used their position to illegally acquire $340 million, the bulk of which was held in Switzerland or in property in Europe and North America. El-Gohari also estimated Hussein Salem's wealth at LE24 billion.
