The verdict in the trial of former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and two other former officials implicated in the so-called “forced labor” case is set to be issued on 2 February, the Giza Criminal Court ruled on Monday. The court began hearings in the case in July. Major General Hassan Abdel Hamid, Adly's first assistant, and Mohamed Bassem Lotfy, the commander of his guard, also stand trial in the case. The defendants face charges of profiteering and wasting public money by forcing security recruits to work for them privately. The prosecutor general demanded the maximum penalty for the defendants, while their lawyers requested their acquittal. Investigations suggest that Adly had forced around 150 recruits to work on his two farms and as well as a third farm belonging to Colonel Bassel for three years. The recruits also constructed two villas with swimming pools for Adly in 6th of October City and a third one for Bassem. Adly claims that he thought the recruits were workers at a contracting company and that he had paid for them. He also accused Abdel Hamid of being responsible for this misunderstanding, stating that he paid all the workers' payments to his assistant. Adly was previously sentenced to life in prison for killing protesters. He was also sentenced to 17 years in jail for financial corruption. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
