CAIRO: Amnesty International called the first day of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's trial “promising,” but cautioned it's still too early to make judgments on whether the trial is fair. “It is a milestone for Egypt to see the former president and his codefendants on trial for the crimes committed,” Mohamed Lotfy, Amnesty's Egypt Researcher told Daily News Egypt. Mubarak, his two sons Gamal and Alaa, former Interior Minister Habib El-Adly, and six of his aides are on trial on charges ranging from illicit profiteering to premeditated murder for ordering the country's security forces to shoot peaceful protesters in January and February. The trial, which is being presided over by a three-judge panel, involved a “lot of internal procedures that we still have to observe and understand” prior to making a judgment on whether or not it is fair and transparent, he said. Lotfy went on to praise that an “ordinary judiciary, criminal court” is trying Mubarak and the other defendants, as opposed to a closed-off military court. On Tuesday, prior to the start of what will be Egypt's most important court case ever, Amnesty International released a statement calling on Egyptian authorities to ensure the trial is “fair, transparent, and reveal(s) the full truth about the unlawful killings of anti-government protestors during this year's mass protests.” “This trial presents a historic opportunity for Egypt to hold a former leader and his inner circle to account for crimes committed during their rule,” Malcolm Smart, Amnesty's Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in the statement. “But if the trial is going to be a meaningful break with Egypt's record of impunity, it must be both fair and transparent — justice demands no less. Not only must the trial be fair but it must be seen to be fair, not least by the families of those who died during the protests,” he added.
