History was made today in Egypt, when Mubarak, the former Egyptian president actually appeared in court in a white jump suite lying down on a hospital bed with an I.V. in his arm, (contents of IV are unknown). He appeared in court along with his two son and other accused. One of whom was the former minister of Interior and security Habeeb El Adly (who is already serving 12 years sentence for corruption and could be facing the death penalty if found guilty of having a hand in the murder of the victims of the uprising for allowing the security forces to use weapons and live ammunition).
Lawyers from both sides took turns speaking in to their microphone, declaring whom they represent and what requests they would like the judge to consider during the trial. For the prosecution there were over 130 lawyers, many of whom were not permitted to enter the courtroom. Most of who represent the people and the families of the martyrs from many different governates in Egypt.
The lawyers when speaking were reciting verses of the Holy Quraan and would harp on and use fancy words and phrases, which the judge didn’t care for and insisted that the lawyers got straight to the point. At times the circus of lawyers fighting for the right and time to speak in to the microphone looked like a classroom scene where eager students were trying to answer questions to impress their teacher. At one point in time the judge insisted all the lawyers be seated and come up to the microphone one at a time in an orderly fashion. There were a few lawyers who stood out, some demanded that Gen. Tantawi be brought testify as well as Anan former Vice President Omar Soleiman. Another brought charges against the phone networks Mobinil, Vodafone and Etisalat for cutting phone lines, one lawyer pulled out and ink pad and demanded the finger prints of the former president and his sons to open a criminal file against them. The lawyer that stood out the most was the one who wanted a DNA test because he believed that the man in the cage wasn’t Hosni Mubarak but an imposter who has been posing as him since 2004, because he believes the real Hosni Mubarak is dead.
The momentous moment for me was hearing the Prosecutor read the charges against the defendants gave me chills. To see the country’s former giants in a cage in a courtroom in jump suits hearing the charges brought against them was surreal. Never did anyone in this nation think they would see the day when a former leader and his crony’s being brought to justice. Mubarak’s sons who remained standing beside their father’s bed blocking the cameras from getting a clear shot of their father were chocked up and emotional when they heard the charges against them being read.
When the judge (Rifaat) asked for the defendants to show themselves and prove that they are present and asked them how they plea to the charges that were read and brought against them and hearing their answers of ‘not guilty’ to me was a moment to remember. I didn’t think that I would ever live to see a trial of this magnitude or significance take place in Egypt.
I am glad that the Judge has split the cases, Mubarak and sons will be tried separately from Adly and his aids. Adly and aid’s case will resume tomorrow, August 4th and the Mubarak’s case will be brought back on August 15th.
Mubarak has been ordered to be held at a hospital on the outskirts of Cairo, on the Cairo Ismalia road. I know that many people felt sorry for Mubarak and believed him to be seriously ill. I am skeptical and think it’s part of an act. I do however admire his sons standing by his side and trying to block camera’s view and showed unity, (that doesnt change what I think of them though).
We have to wait and see what will happen until then…. Never the less it’s all history in the making and possibly a significant step towards true democracy.
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August 5, 2011 at 15:34
WME
Egyptian will always remain a soft and emotional nation that is why we forgive and forget very easily. I am not saying that we should let them off the hock with no punishment, but going after revenge will do us not good. We need to move on and plan for our future here.
I couldn’t say that I had felt a sense of relief that justice will be done watching our former president, his suns, and the minister of interior along with his top executives being prosecuted. I guess it was more like a sense of disappointment. All of Egypt now, I mean everyone everywhere, is talking about this trial, like I give a flying….. Excuse my French. What happened to the people that are still suffering from injustices and inequalities that many faced in Egypt during his time of being the president. No one cares about them, everyone is concerned with the constitution and elections, like it will make a big difference, like the environment will change to allow for positive changes to accumulate over time. Democracy, like we are ready to be open and honest with each other, everyone has an agenda for Egypt. Of all the presidency candidates, don’t get me wrong many are just fine people, but I think they all lack the leadership qualities to filling this challenging position. Maybe they are fine scholars, scientists, or what have you but they are not fit or qualified for this role. They might have great thoughts, wonderful long term plans, and even might be honest enough to try to apply what they preach. I still have not seen one person that can grasp how far we have fallen behind all the nations in almost every aspect of human and social standards and can actually start rebuilding the foundation and platform from where we can launch our new civilization. Many Egyptians in their homeland or abroad have demonstrated great qualities and outstanding academic and political achievements. The revolution in Egypt has only started and we are a long way from being done. However, the first wave that took place back in late Jan. 2011 will be considered the most peaceful of many waves to come in the near future. As long as the status quo is untouched we will see more uprising and discontent with the slow political and economic developments.
I say we should first prosecute our former president for placing Egypt at the end of the line behind all developed and developing countries, for the current national debt, for the high national illiteracy rate, and for the deteriorating educationa system and healthcare among many other crimes committed against our great nation.
September 19, 2012 at 10:15
Aron
I like your point of view. Like a problem-solver