CAIRO: A Facebook group has violated the military junta's gag order imposed on the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, al-Youm al-Saba'a reported on Wednesday. The report said the social networking site's group “O President, We Are Sorry,” posted former Vice President Omar Suleiman's full testimony on whether Mubarak had ordered security forces to open fire on protesters during the 18 days of protests that ultimately led to his ousting on February 11. The posting was a clear violation of the military's orders not to publish information pertaining to testimony, the newspaper said. The Public Prosecutor placed a gag order on the sessions of the trials held between September 13 to 15, and between September 24 and 25, when Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), and Egyptian Chief of Staff Sami Enan are expected to testify. Mubarak faces charges of ordering the killing of demonstrators during the January 25 revolution while also facing corruption charges alongside his two sons, Gamal and Alaa. Former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and 6 of his former assistants as well as Hussein Salem, a fugitive businessman, are standing trial for corruption. Both Tantawi and Anan had served under Mubarak as senior army commanders. Their testimonies are to be held behind closed doors for “security reasons,” according to the trial's judge Ahmed Refaat and his statement released on September 7. It is not immediately clear if any legal action would be taken against the Facebook group for their publishing the Suleiman testimony. ** Luiz Sanchez contributed to this report. BM
