Cairo, Sept 6 : The trial of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was today adjourned to September 7 as a top police general and three other key witness made crucial depositions in a court.
Today's session was the third since the trial opened on August 3. The court heard one witness point a finger of blame at the chief of anti-riot forces for dozens of deaths in Egypt's revolution.
The court is investigating whether the orders to fire on the crowds were solely given by the interior ministry or the president.
Judge Ahmed Refaat, the presiding judge in the trial of Mubarak, ordered the trial be adjourned to Wednesday to hear the testimonies of prosecution witnesses. Four police officers took the witness stand, including Hussein Saeed Mursi who headed the anti-riot police's communications department at the time of the uprising. Mursi said, that General Ahmed Ramzi, head of anti-riot forces, gave “clear instructions to protect the interior ministry and deal with the demonstrators with automatic weapons.”
Ramzi is one of the accused in the trial along with Mubarak, former interior minister Habib al-Adly and other police officials. Mubarak's two sons Alaa and Gamal are being tried on graft charges, as well as their father. Presiding judge Refaat cross examined communications director at the Interior Ministry Central Security Sector Major General Hussein Moussa about the events that took place between January 25 and February 11.
At the beginning of his testimony, Moussa told Judge Refaat that he was responsible for following up all communications of the Central Security Forces all over Egypt. He said he heard an order to use machine guns against protesters on January 28.
Moussa said, “I heard Ahmed Ramzy, former assistant minister for the Central Security Forces, on January 28 saying that there will be attacks on the [headquarters of the] Interior Ministry and police stations.
He added that he received that from former Cairo Security Director Ismail el-Shaer and former director of public security department Adli Fayed.
“Ramzy asked for support of machine guns,” Moussa testified. Moussa said that the decision to shoot at protesters was taken by Ramzy, after a swift discussion with Major General Abdel-Aziz Fahmi, the assistant director of the Central Security Forces.
Moussa added that orders were issued to use tear gas, water cannons to disperse protesters in an operation which lasted for three hours.
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 Gen. Ahmed Ramzy, another of the defendants, who issued the order. “Anybody else?” the judge asked. “No,” Moussa answered, according to Eid. Moussa said live ammunition was used only against protesters who planned to attack the Cairo security headquarters, police stations and prisons. In Tahrir Square , the epicenter of the uprising where witnesses and prosecutors say police snipers shot at protesters, he said security forces used only water cannons and rubber bullets.
Earlier Monday, the court listened to demands from plaintiffs and defence attorneys and heard testimonies of four prosecution witnesses. One witness in case of shooting peaceful Egyptian protestors says weapons were transferred to security forces in ambulance. PTI
