CAIRO - New Cairo Criminal Court on Thursday finished hearing the defence of ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his aides, who are accused of giving orders to kill peaceful protesters during the January 25 Revolution that toppled Mubarak. The case includes Mubarak, along with his former interior minister Habib el-Adli and the latter's assistants. Mubarak's sons – Alaa and Gamal – and his fugitive friend, Hussein Salem, are also charged with corruption in the same case. The court, presided over by Justice Ahmed Refaat, will, on February 20, receive the comments of the prosecution and the lawyers for the victims' families; on February 22, the defence of the accused will give their final comments. Refaat told them that all their comments must be written down, as he will never accept oral arguments. The defence team for Omar Faramawi, the former security chief for 6th October Governorate, said that his client did not order police to abandon their posts; on the contrary, he made his governorate more secure than any other governorate. They added that, although 6th October City is home to nearly 80 banks, villas and palaces, in addition to Media Production City, no big losses have been reported there. The defence added that Faramawi used to patrol the city to ensure things were stable, stressing that their client safeguarded demonstrations from outlaws and infiltrators. The infiltrators among the demonstrators were carrying weapons and, if Faramawi had given orders to shoot, there might have been a massacre,” they said. “The prosecution hasn't asked any experts to assess the losses and damage of which Faramawi has been accused.” The defence of the former security chief of Giza Governorate, Osama el-Marasi, presented their arguments to the court on Wednesday. Marasi's lawyers showed the court video footage of Marasi out on the streets of Giza in January and February last year. The footage showed Marasi touring the streets of Doqqi and el-Mohandiseen in Giza, after the controversial nationwide withdrawal of police forces. “I know some police officers have gone too far,” Marasi is heard saying during one video clip, which prosecutors speculated was a response to a complaint, someone off-camera made to him about police actions. Other clips showed Marasi dealing with attempted prison escapes and talking to protesters in the streets. The defence team also showed footage of an attack on a police station in Giza. They said that the head of the station contacted a provost marshal (a military officer in charge of police forces) for help, and an armoured vehicle was sent to protect the station. However, security forces were still unable to regain control. The video showed the station being looted. The defence added that, during the uprising, the protesters outnumbered the security forces, saying that police officers did their best to handle the situation, and that some officers only fired their guns to frighten protesters and secure public facilities.
