adminFarid el-Deeb, Mubarak’s chief defence lawyer, portrayed the former Egyptian president yesterday as a “clean” leader who placed the law above all else and worked tirelessly for his nation.
“Mubarak is neither a tyrant or a bloodthirsty man. He respects the judiciary and its decisions. A clean man who could say no wrong,” el-Deeb said.
Lawyers for Mubarak have been given five sessions to state their case in defence of the former Egyptian president, facing charges of corruption and unlawfully killing protesters during the 18-day uprising that ended his decades-long rule almost one year ago.
Mubarak returned to a Cairo courtroom for the resumption of a trial in which his two sons and eight of his former officials are also accused.
The prosecutor has called for Mubarak to face the death penalty if convicted. Both he and the other 10 defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Chief prosecutor Mustafa Suleiman said at a previous hearing that the ailing 83-year-old must have ordered police to open fire on protesters.
Mubarak “must have agreed on the killings”, Suleiman told the court on 5 January.
Mubarak’s sons, Gamal and Alaa, also face corruption charges, while Habib al-Adly, a former interior minister and head of security services, is charged with murder and attempted murder.
Six security officials face the same charges. Hussein Salem, a business associate of Mubarak, is charged with corruption. — Al Jazeera.
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