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Mubarak on trial: Egypt, Syria, Libya and Middle East live bloggu.com/p/3xxf8/tw via @guardian
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Mubarak on trial: Egypt, Syria, Libya and Middle East live blog
• Mubarak denies all charges against him
• Scuffles and rocks thrown outside court
• Click for details of defendants and chargesThis page will update automatically every minute: On | Off
Hosni Mubarak on trial Photograph: AljazeeraJack Shenker writes from Cairo:
Hugely emotional moment as prosecutor reads out the charges against Hosni Mubarak. Much of it may be legalese, but this (by no means all-encompassing) litany of crimes committed by Mubarak against Egypt and its people is, for many, the ultimate vindication after 30 years of dictatorship - and six months of ongoing revolution. When the names of some of those killed in the pro-change uprising were stated, some broke into tears. Mubarak spoke for the first time to confirm his presence, and deny all the charges against him.Mubarak's sons, Alaa and Gamal, also deny the charges."I deny all these charges and accusations categorically," Hosni Mubarak says from his stretcher.A prosecutor says Hosni Mubarak illegally acquired five villas worth 39m Egyptian pounds (£4m) for his sons and himself.He refers to 2m sq km of land acquired in Sharm el-Sheikh.By agreement and collusion he agreed with an official public servant to obtain without right benefits from his position.Jack Shenker writes from Cairo. He says the centre of the city is pretty much a ghost town at the moment. Some of that is because it's Ramadan at the moment, when the streets are always quieter than normal, but it's also because there are so many people huddled around rickety TV sets in alleyway cafes or standing outside the windows of electronic shops staring at the screens within.Many have been commentating on the fact that Mubarak is on a stretcher, with most dismissing it as a naked plea for sympathy (the 83-year-old seems perfectly able to prop himself up and put his hands behind his head, so it's not clear why he's not just in a wheelchair).Not everyone is happy though. "It's good to see the others there, but the sight of a man who once led the biggest nation in the Middle East now lying in a bed behind bars - that's really strange," Reda Tohami Ibrahim told me as we watched proceedings in a side street. Others around him also appeared in a state of shock - though there was no shortage of bawdy laughter when the camera appeared to catch the deposed dictator picking his nose.Now that the dramatic moment of Mubarak's first appearance is over with, thoughts are turning to what will actually happen inside the courtroom. The day seems likely to be consumed with procedural arguments by the phalanx of lawyers on both sides, and it seems highly possible that the beleaguered judge (who is struggling to keep order) may accept the defence's call for an adjournment. The biggest drama may prove to be outside the courtroom, where scattered clashes between between police and pro-Mubarak supporters are continuing.Another lawyer representing victims says that after today's court hearing, Hosni Mubarak, who has been in hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh, should be taken to Torah prison, where many other members of his regime including his sons are being held.Back to the Mubarak trial in Egypt.A lawyer representing victims refers to protesters in the "great revolution" having "bombs and grenades" used against them and to "intimidation and thuggery". He says: "The ousted dictator decided to kill peaceful demonstrators."The international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières today condemned an armed raid on its premises inBahrain on 28 July and the subsequent detention of one of its staff members. Since February, when demonstrations began in Bahrain, MSF has seen almost 200 injured and ill patients who did not want to seek help from Bahraini health facilities because they feared being arrested for any involvement in the protests or for any affiliation with the protesters.More from Hama in Syria, where tanks are occupying the main central square after heavy shelling."All communications have been cut off. The regime is using the media focus on the Hosni Mubarak trial to finish off Hama," one of the residents told Reuters, adding that shelling concentrated on al-Hader district, large parts of which were was razed during the 1982 military assault on Hama that killed thousands. The square has been the venue of some of the largest demonstrations against Bashar al-Assad's rule during the five month uprising.The Mubaraks have been brought back into the courtroom.Around 200 riot police charged at people involved in skirmishes, according to al-Jazeera. Opponents and supporters of the former Egyptian president were throwing stones and rocks at each other. Al-Jazeera's reporter Sherine Tadros said police acted after an officer was hit on the head by a rock and was taken away in an ambulance. Other people have also been carried into ambulances injured, she said.
Scuffles outside the court in Cairo where Hosni Mubarak is on trial today. Photograph: Al-Jazeera_Syria: Reuters is reporting that tanks are occupying Orontes Square in central Hama after heavy shelling of the city.People were attacking the police with rocks, al-Jazeera reports, leading police to move against them.Al-Jazeera is showing riot police in black with shields and helmets, and others in white, outside the court. Rocks are being thrown and protesters and police are being carried away injured, the channel reports.
