CAIRO - Former Interior Minister Habib el-Adli and four senior police officers have been accused of premeditated murder and would stand trial shortly, the Prosecutor General has said. The five officials would be referred to the Criminal Court on charges of ordering the shooting of anti-regime protesters on January 28, Chief Prosecutor Abdul Meguid Mahmoud said. Abdul Meguid said that el-Adli and the head of Cairo Security Directorate, Public Security Directorate, Riot Police Directorate and State Security Agency would be referred to the Cairo Criminal Court after they had been officially charged with ordering the shooting of young Egyptian protesters on what was popularly known as the "Friday of Wrath". The five senior police officials have been accused of premeditated murder and deliberate killing of protesters during the demonstrations that erupted in Cairo and other provinces during a popular uprising against the former regime, Abdul Meguid said. More than 638 Egyptians were shot dead in the protests that also left more than 6,000 persons injured, a Government-report revealed on Wednesday. Adli, who has been banned from travel and whose assets have been frozen, is currently on trial for fraud as part of a broad probe into graft crimes, which he had allegedly committed while he was in office. Two weeks ago, Abdul Meguid issued arrest warrants for the four security chiefs, Ismail al-Shaer, Adli Fayed, Ahmed Ramzi and Hassan Abdul Rahman for ordering police officers to open fire at the protesters in Cairo. In a related development, the police chiefs of Giza, Suez, the 6th of October along with many officers in other governorates would be court martialed for killing and wounding protesters during the demonstrations, the Prosecutor's Office said. The charges against these top police officers have been filed upon official complaints after the Prosecutor General collected evidence from families of the dead and police at the demonstrations. Human rights and pro-democracy activists have welcomed Abdul Meguid's action, which came after the Interior Minister, Maj General Mansour el-Essawi, ordered the dissolving of the State Security Agency, which spied on the Egyptians. Essawi ordered the setting up of the National Security, which would be restricted to protecting home-front and combating terrorism. Insecurity has been rife since January 25, despite a gradual re-appearance by police personnel in the streets.
