CAIRO - The trial of toppled president Hosni Mubarak, his two sons, Habib el-Adly, the former minister of Interior, and six high-ranking police officers will resume on September 24, the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) said. The North Cairo Court, presided over by Judge Ahmed Refaat, has set September 24 and September 25 respectively for hearing the testimonies of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), and Chief of Staff Sami Annan. In the absence of the defendants, the court will begin as of Saturday to watch CD and video footage of the killing of protesters during the January 25 revolution. Meanwhile, two witnesses in the case concerning the exporting of natural gas to Israel were questioned in court. Former Minister of Oil Sameh Fahmy, fugitive businessman Hussein Salem and five of the Oil Ministry's top officials are charged with selling Egyptian gas to Israel for very low prices. Salem is also charged with bribing ex-president Mubarak and his family and squandering public funds. When asked by the court whether Egyptian Intelligence played any role in the exporting of gas to Israel, Amr el-Qarnaqti of the country's Administrative Control Watchdog said that he cannot remember, according to MENA. El-Qarnaqti said the pricing was set by former prime minister Atef Ebeid in 2005. The witness also said the nature of his job did not qualify him to give an opinion about the gas contract with Israel. In 2005, Egypt signed an agreement with Israel to export natural gas piped through Sinai. Three years later, Egyptian gas started to flow to Israel. Another witness said Salem owns 20 per cent and controls another 50 per cent, through a proxy, of the East Mediterranean Gas consortium (EMG), which exports gas to Israel. Egypt exports 215 million cubic feet per day to Israel through EMG, according to official reports. The consortium consists of Ampal-American Israel Corp, Thailand's PTT and Israel's Merhav. Meanwhile, groups on the social networking service and website Facebook accused State-owned Egyptian Television of disclosing the testimony made by ex-minister of interior Mahmoud Wagdi. Wagdi, who placed el-Adly on January 30, testified in court about whether or not the Interior Ministry used snipers to kill protesters during the 18-day popular revolt. A pro-Mubarak Facebook page named ‘I'm Sorry President' claimed that the State-run TV had breached a broadcast ban twice within 24 hours.
