CAIRO - Former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly pleaded not guilty to corruption charges, in the first trial of a member of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's regime. Standing in the dock and dressed in white prison clothes, el-Adly denied accusations of money laundering and unlawful acquisition of public money, when asked by Chief Judge el Mohamadi Qansuh. "It didn't happen," he said twice in a calm tone. Throughout the trial, dozens stood outside the Cairo Criminal Court to demand the death penalty for Adly, whose forces have long been accused by rights groups of torture. Riot police surrounded the courthouse in the New Cairo suburb of Tagammu Khames and three army tanks were positioned at the entrance ahead of the high-profile trial, which will resume on April 2. "The people want the execution of the murderer," the protesters chanted, as others held banners depicting Adly with a noose around his neck. The corruption case against el-Adly has fallen short of demands of some pro-democracy activists, who want to see him prosecuted for human rights abuses. The former minister is currently being questioned for ordering the shooting of protesters with live bullets during 18 days of protests that brought down Mubarak. Shortly after the start of the hearing, Qansuh adjourned the session, after a heated exchange between the defence team and civil society lawyers attending the trial. Both scuffled over bids to take photos of el-Adly inside the dock. Ibrahim Bassiuni, a civil society lawyer volunteering for the prosecution, called on Qansuh to allow television cameras into the courtroom. "It is the public's right to see this murderer standing in the dock," he said. "I'm the one who decided whether photography is allowed," said Qansuh, denying photography equipment entry into the courtroom and evicting those present inside. Defence lawyer Mohamed Youssef Manaa had asked for more time to study the documents of the case, and refused to comment after the trial. The Public Prosecution said el-Adly had used his position as a public servant to sell land to a contractor doing work for the Interior Ministry, in a deal worth 4.8 million Egyptian pounds (around $813,000). They also accused el-Adly of involvement in money laundering to the tune of 4.5 million Egyptian pounds (around $762,000). Bassiuni added money recovered from el-Adly's alleged illegal deals "should be handed to the martyrs of the revolution". El-Adly was arrested last month as part of a sweeping corruption drive by the new authorities, along with several former ministers and senior members of Mubarak's National Democratic Party.
