| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Africa North | |
| VictimsÂ’ lawyer says Tantawi lied | |
| 2012-01-11 | |
| CAIRO: A lawyer for the victims in the trial of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak has accused the head of Egypt's ruling military council and the ex-vice president of lying to the court on behalf of Mubarak. The 83-year-old former president and some of his top former security officials are on trial on charges of complicity in killings of about 850 protesters during 18-day uprising that forced Mubarak from power on Feb. 11. Amir Salem, who represents families of the victims, alleged in court on Monday that both Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of ruling military council, and former Vice President Omar Suleiman lied in their testimonies. Both Tantawi and Suleiman worked for decades as senior officials under Mubarak. Lawyers for the victims' families also charged that Egyptian police were ordered to use lethal fire against protesters in the revolt which brought Mubarak down. Sameh Ashour, lead counsel for victims' families in the Cairo trial, submitted official documents which he said showed that 160 police officers had been armed with automatic weapons and 4,800 live rounds. The lawyer also showed a report from the Central Security Forces that four units, each made up of 50 policemen, had been supplied with automatic weapons and ammunition. A speech by Mubarak on Jan. 28, three days after the outbreak of the unrest, amounted to "implicit recognition of the use of force against demonstrators," according to Ashour.
Lawyers for civil plaintiffs have until Tuesday to present their case before the defense takes its turn, after the prosecution last week urged the court to sentence the fallen strongman to hang. Chief prosecutor Mustafa Suleiman told the court that Mubarak must have ordered police to open fire on protesters during the 18-day uprising that ended his three-decade rule on Feb. 11, leaving more than 850 dead. Essam El-Batawy, a defense lawyer, said the prosecution's closing arguments were based, in part, on statements from witnesses they had questioned during their investigation who had not taken the stand. "They used partial quotes from their testimony," he said. "We will insist on listening to these witnesses in court," saying they will be called to testify. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |