CAIRO: Security forces dominated the Police Academy on Wednesday as the Hosni Mubarak trial continues in Egypt. In all, three armored cars, 20 security vehicles, a Central Security Services van and a large number of ambulances and fire trucks were present, supplementing the large number of security forces also at the academy. The heightened security comes after clashes between pro- and anti-Mubarak protesters last week caused many people to be injured and disrupted the trial process itself. The court had Omar Suleiman, Head of Egyptian Intelligence services and former Vice-President, testify on Tuesday. The appearance of Suleiman is unprecedented in Egypt's history because never before has Egypt summoned someone from the highly secretive intelligence agency. Suleiman has been dubbed ‘the black box' by many Egyptians. Because of his involvement with Mubarak there have been many people that are skeptical of his testimony. One Egyptian translator told Bikyamasr.com that she felt the trials would be dubious. “Since the trial began a lot of officers changed their statements,” Aliya Alwi said. “Suleiman himself was a very high ranking official, and many people believe he should be up there on trial with the rest. I have very little faith in these trials, it is symbolic, but whether or not he tells the truth is another matter,” she continued. The Egyptian Minister of Interior Mansour el-Essawi arrived in the morning to testify in a trial that will determine Mubarak's role in the murder of protesters during the January 25 uprising, as well as corruption charges against his two sons Gamal and Alaa, as well as the former Minister of Interior, Habib Al-Adly and 6 of his assistants. As with the Suleiman testimony, the trial is being held behind clsed doors, with the public and media being barred from the hearing and any reports from the courts are not allowed to be published during the hearing itself. BM
