Cairo court holds closed-door hearings for Mubarak''s retrial

Cairo Criminal Court held Sunday a closed-door hearing for a testimony of ex-prime minister Atef Obeid, part of a retrial of former president Hosni Mubarak, his two sons and top aides.
The court, chaired by Justice Mahmoud Al-Rashdi, also heard testimonies of former interior minister Ahmad Jamal Ad-Deen and current oil minister Sharif Ismail.
Official news agency (MENA) said the court decided to hold a closed-door hearing "due to national security considerations" because the issues being raised dealt with exporting of Egyptian gas to Israel with preferential prices, and the killing of protesters during the January 25, 2011 revolution.
Al-Rashidi was quoted by MENA as saying the court would disclose, following the hearings, the testimonies "in a way that will not harm the Egyptian national security." Besides, Mubarak and his two sons Alaa and Jamal, the defendants include former interior minister Habib Al-Adly and six of his aides, former prime minister Ahmad Nazif and Hussein Salem - a business tycoon and Mubarak's confidant.
They face charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during the revolution of January 25, 2011, profiteering from fraudulent sale of natural gas to Israel, money laundering, and squandering state funds.
This is a retrial of the icons of the former regime; it started in last May but was adjourned several times.
In June 2012, Mubarak was proven guilty of conspiring in the killing of protesters and was sentenced to life imprisonment but his appeal against conviction was upheld in January 2013; he was cleared of the corruption charges.
Last August he was released from prison on appeal and the trial resumed, while his two sons were cleared of graft charges in June, 2012, but were ordered back to court in last January.
Former interior minister Al-Adly was sentenced in June, 2012, to life imprisonment for contributing to the killing of protesters, to a 12-years prison term for money-laundering and profiteering in May, 2012, and to five years for profiteering in July 2012.
Nazif was given one-year suspended jail sentence for profiteering and three-year jail sentence and fined nine million Egyptian pounds (USD 1.4 mllion) for illegal enrichment. (end) rg.bs KUNA 202322 Oct 13NNNN






Source:kuna