Judge Refaat adjourns Mubarak court hearings until October 30

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces   Cairo - Akram Ali with Agencies   Judge Ahmed Refaat has decided to stop Mubarak’s trial court hearing pending the court’s looking into a call-back case, until October 30th. The defense team for the families of the martyrs made a formal request for a call-back from the court, as they felt that the court has refrained from them and has not given them enough space to defend martyrs’ families.
On Saturday, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) testified in the trial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak on Saturday in front of Judge Ahmed Refaat and a limited number of civil rights prosecutors and Defence lawyers as well. Mubarak’s plane arrived from the medical centre a short while before Tantawi’s arrival.  A large number of Mubarak’s allies and a number of martyrs’ families gathered outside the court for the fifth session of the trial. There was also a huge presence of supporters of the residential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, who were there to call on Tantawi to release those detained and have them militarily trialed. No clashes were reported between the people gathered outside the court, although there was heavy security and court doors closed early. A Civil Prosecutor, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that security forces assaulted him and a number of his colleagues and treated them in a humiliating manner in court. The court witnessed a state of chaos following the prevention of one Civil Prosecutor from attending, causing the Judge in return to go ahead and end Tantawi’s testimony quickly so that it is not stalled. Meanwhile, Attorney Khaled Ali, Chairman of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, filed a lawsuit against Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and the Minister of Justice Mohamed Abdel Aziz Al Guindy, at the Administrative Court on Saturday morning. Ali demanded that the Emergency Law, which ends on September 30th, is cancelled and never to be activated again according to the constitutional announcement made by the Military council.
The court trying Mubarak, his two sons, and former security officers, held three closed-door sessions last week, listening to the testimonies of former vice- president and chief of General Intelligence Omar Suleiman; incumbent interior minister Mansour Eissawi and former interior minister Mahmoud Wagdi, Al Ahram Weekly reported. On Thursday, Assem Al- Jawhari, the Assistant Minister of Justice of Egyptian affairs, has revealed the existence of more properties owned by Mubarak and his family. Al-Jawhari, who is head of the Body for Illicit Gain, confirmed that committees are still working to uncover the rest of Mubarak’s fortune. In an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, Al Jawhari said that the location of the new properties would be announced soon. He also discussed Egypt’s efforts to recover money stolen by the former-regime elite. “We are currently looking for the persons who were involved in money laundering and have asked for compensation from all countries involved”, he said. “We have also set up International offices to search for and follow up any legal cases involving suspected money laundering.”
On 17 and 18 September the court reviewed video footage presented by the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) containing scenes of police assaulting peaceful protesters between 25 and 31 January. Cairo Criminal Court on Sunday sentenced former tourism minister Zuhair Jerana to three years behind bars for illegally issuing licenses to new tourism companies; it was officially reported.The tribunal acquitted the ex-minister of premeditated harm, inflicted upon others' interests.
Leaks from Suleiman's five hours on the witness stand on 13 September suggest he told the court Mubarak never issued orders that protesters be shot. Suleiman, 74, served as Egypt's vice-president for 12 days. He was questioned by prosecution authorities in April.
Suleiman said that as chief of General Intelligence he submitted a report to Mubarak a few days ahead of the 25 January Revolution warning that "unprecedented levels of popular dissatisfaction about plans to groom Gamal Mubarak to inherit power could provoke a massive uprising".
On 14 September Interior Minister Mansour Eissawi gave three and a half hours of evidence. In France during the 25 January Revolution, Eissawi was appointed minister of the interior on 5 March.
Eissawi was summoned to testify upon the request of lawyers defending the families of the victims of the revolution to explain the responsibility and duties of the interior minister and chief of central security forces. "Security forces," said one officer who requested anonymity, "lacked the authority to open fire on protesters without first receiving an order from the president of the republic".
On 15 September former interior minister Mahmoud Wagdi took the witness stand for three hours. Wagdi, a former chief of the Prisons Department, was appointed minister of interior on 30 January. The date of his appointment is key: while he was not expected to furnish information on the killing of up to 860 protesters in the last week of July Wagdi's testimony was expected to shed light on the events of 2 and 3 February, the Battle of the Camel, in which 11 protesters were killed and hundreds injured.
Most political and security experts agree that Tantawi's testimony will in the end determine whether or not Mubarak was implicated in the murder of peaceful protesters. Tantawi will answer questions about whether Mubarak ordered him, in his capacity as minister of defence, to open fire on protesters after central security forces had failed to stem the tide of demonstrations.
Video footage presented to the court by the GID on 17 and 18 September was not only inconclusive but verged on the farcical. Several hours of film contained few images from the 2 February Battle of the Camel and even fewer from events between 25 and 31 January which lawyers representing the families of protesters had demanded GID make available to the court.
Prosecution lawyers called the footage worthless. Some videos showed the Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx. Others, dating from 1996, showed tourists entering the Egyptian Museum. Lawyers for the plaintiffs filed a report with presiding judge Ahmed Rifaat demanding an investigation into those responsible for providing the film. GID was headed by Omar Suleiman from 1993 until he left office on 11 February.
Mubarak's lawyer Farid El-Deeb believes that court hearings have so far gone in favour of his client while lawyers representing the families of victims complain the evidence prosecutors have presented against Mubarak and his former security chiefs has been worthless.
Meanwhile, Cairo's Criminal Court acquitted Gamal, Mubarak's younger son, of conspiring with former tourism minister Zoheir Garana to issue operating licences to tourism companies illegally. The court sentenced former tourism minister to three years in prison for issuing the licences. Garana, who was convicted in May on different corruption charges, is one of many former regime officials to face trial since Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office, Al Ahram Weekly reported.