TV barred from trial of Egypt's Mubarak
Source: Agencies |
August 16, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TELEVISION cameras will not be allowed in the courtroom for the rest of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's trial, the presiding judge ruled yesterday.
Judge Ahmed Rifaat adjourned the trial until September 5, when Mubarak, his former security chief and six other senior officials are scheduled to face charges of conspiring to kill protesters during the uprising that ousted them from power.
State TV cameras had been allowed for the first two hearings, but Rifaat said he will ban them before summoning witnesses "in protection of the general interest."
The decision met with suspicion from Ramadan Ahmed, father of a 16-year-old killed during the uprising. "This is not correct," he said. "I want to see justice realized before my eyes."
But lawyers applauded the decision. More than 100 of them represent families of victims, prompting accusations that some were attending in order to appear on TV.
Gamal Eid, who represents a number of families, said: "This decision pleases most of the lawyers who are really working on the case, not those who want the TV appearance. This turns it again into a legal case, not a show."
He said more effort is now needed to ensure family members are allowed into the courtroom.
Ailing 83-year-old Mubarak arrived in a helicopter from a Cairo hospital where he has been held since his first court appearance on August 3.
He was wheeled into the metal defendants' cage on a bed with his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, by his side. The two sons face charges of corruption.
Judge Ahmed Rifaat adjourned the trial until September 5, when Mubarak, his former security chief and six other senior officials are scheduled to face charges of conspiring to kill protesters during the uprising that ousted them from power.
State TV cameras had been allowed for the first two hearings, but Rifaat said he will ban them before summoning witnesses "in protection of the general interest."
The decision met with suspicion from Ramadan Ahmed, father of a 16-year-old killed during the uprising. "This is not correct," he said. "I want to see justice realized before my eyes."
But lawyers applauded the decision. More than 100 of them represent families of victims, prompting accusations that some were attending in order to appear on TV.
Gamal Eid, who represents a number of families, said: "This decision pleases most of the lawyers who are really working on the case, not those who want the TV appearance. This turns it again into a legal case, not a show."
He said more effort is now needed to ensure family members are allowed into the courtroom.
Ailing 83-year-old Mubarak arrived in a helicopter from a Cairo hospital where he has been held since his first court appearance on August 3.
He was wheeled into the metal defendants' cage on a bed with his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, by his side. The two sons face charges of corruption.
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