Mubarak cop says no orders to shoot
Source: Agencies |
September 6, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A SENIOR police officer said there were no orders to shoot protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square in startling testimony yesterday at the trial of ousted President Hosni Mubarak on charges he was complicit in killing Egyptians involved in the uprising against his rule.
The testimony came from a police general who had been called to the stand by prosecutors who had expected him to reveal who gave orders for police to open fire on protesters. But General Hussein Moussa said police were ordered to use only tear gas and rubber bullets and resorted to live ammunition only to protect police stations.
It was a dramatic and confusing start to the prosecution's case. Moussa was the first witness to be called in a trial that has been dominated by procedural issues since it began on August 3.
The session was stormy. Outside Cairo's Police Academy compound where the trial is being held, hundreds of relatives of protesters who were killed in the uprising clashed with police and tried to force their way in, frustrated at being prohibited from attending the trial.
Live TV broadcasts of the landmark trial have been halted by a judge's order, angering many Egyptians who wanted to witness the prosecution of the man who ruled their country for nearly 30 years and was widely resented for a regime plagued by corruption, police abuse and a ruling-party monopoly on power.
Inside the courtroom, pro- and anti-Mubarak lawyers broke into fist-fights after a loyalist in the audience raised a picture of the ousted president. One lawyer took off his shoes and beat another lawyer with them, and other scuffled and shouted insults, prompting the judge to adjourn briefly, according to Mohammed Damaty, a lawyer representing the victims' families.
As he has in previous sessions, the 83-year-old Mubarak, who is in ill health, lay in a hospital bed in the defendants cage along with his co-defendants, including his two sons.
Mubarak is charged with corruption and with complicity in the killings of protesters. His sons, Gamal and Alaa, also face corruption charges, and his former interior minister Habib el-Adly and six top police officers are also charged in the protester killings. About 850 people were killed when police opened fire on protesters during the 18-day uprising that brought Mubarak's downfall on February 11.
Prosecutors claim that Mubarak and his highest ranking security chief el-Adly were ultimately responsible for orders to use lethal force against the peaceful protesters. Before yesterday's session, they had said Moussa - who headed the communications unit of the Central Security Forces, which were deployed to curb the protests - would name those who issued orders.
But on the stand, Moussa denied el-Adly gave any such orders, according to the lawyer Damaty and a human rights activist at the trial.
The judge, who in the Egyptian system questions witnesses, asked Moussa if he knew whether el-Adly issued orders allowing police to use live ammunition against protesters, Moussa replied, "No, I don't know," according to a tweet by rights activist Gamal Eid, who was inside the courtroom.
Moussa said it was General Ahmed Ramzy, another of the defendants, who issued the order. "Anybody else?" the judge asked. "No," Moussa answered, according to Eid.
The testimony came from a police general who had been called to the stand by prosecutors who had expected him to reveal who gave orders for police to open fire on protesters. But General Hussein Moussa said police were ordered to use only tear gas and rubber bullets and resorted to live ammunition only to protect police stations.
It was a dramatic and confusing start to the prosecution's case. Moussa was the first witness to be called in a trial that has been dominated by procedural issues since it began on August 3.
The session was stormy. Outside Cairo's Police Academy compound where the trial is being held, hundreds of relatives of protesters who were killed in the uprising clashed with police and tried to force their way in, frustrated at being prohibited from attending the trial.
Live TV broadcasts of the landmark trial have been halted by a judge's order, angering many Egyptians who wanted to witness the prosecution of the man who ruled their country for nearly 30 years and was widely resented for a regime plagued by corruption, police abuse and a ruling-party monopoly on power.
Inside the courtroom, pro- and anti-Mubarak lawyers broke into fist-fights after a loyalist in the audience raised a picture of the ousted president. One lawyer took off his shoes and beat another lawyer with them, and other scuffled and shouted insults, prompting the judge to adjourn briefly, according to Mohammed Damaty, a lawyer representing the victims' families.
As he has in previous sessions, the 83-year-old Mubarak, who is in ill health, lay in a hospital bed in the defendants cage along with his co-defendants, including his two sons.
Mubarak is charged with corruption and with complicity in the killings of protesters. His sons, Gamal and Alaa, also face corruption charges, and his former interior minister Habib el-Adly and six top police officers are also charged in the protester killings. About 850 people were killed when police opened fire on protesters during the 18-day uprising that brought Mubarak's downfall on February 11.
Prosecutors claim that Mubarak and his highest ranking security chief el-Adly were ultimately responsible for orders to use lethal force against the peaceful protesters. Before yesterday's session, they had said Moussa - who headed the communications unit of the Central Security Forces, which were deployed to curb the protests - would name those who issued orders.
But on the stand, Moussa denied el-Adly gave any such orders, according to the lawyer Damaty and a human rights activist at the trial.
The judge, who in the Egyptian system questions witnesses, asked Moussa if he knew whether el-Adly issued orders allowing police to use live ammunition against protesters, Moussa replied, "No, I don't know," according to a tweet by rights activist Gamal Eid, who was inside the courtroom.
Moussa said it was General Ahmed Ramzy, another of the defendants, who issued the order. "Anybody else?" the judge asked. "No," Moussa answered, according to Eid.
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