Mubarak returns to court - supporters, opponents clash outside
16:22 05/09/2011 CAIRO, September 5 (RIA Novosti) - The trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak resumed behind closed doors on Monday as families of those who died during the uprising that ousted him clashed with police outside the courtroom.
The hearings are due to focus on Mubarak's violent crackdown on Cairo protests in January. Other charges against the former president include abuse of office to illegally amass wealth, but they are unlikely to be heard during Monday's session.
Clashes began when the families of those killed in the anti-Mubarak uprising tried to push their way into Cairo's police academy, the venue for the trial. Police used batons to beat them back. The family members, in turn, threw rocks at the officers.
The proceedings are moving into a new phase as the first witnesses take the stand: four policemen will provide the first witness testimony against Mubarak and his top security officials.
The defendants' and victims' lawyers scuffled inside the courtroom, a RIA Novosti correspondent said.
The lawyer representing the families of the victims, Gamal Eid of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, who is tweeting from inside the courtroom, added that the clashes disrupted the session, forcing the presiding judge, Ahmed Refaat, to call a recess after lawyers began yelling at him.
Mubarak is charged with authorizing lethal force against protesters to crush the uprising in February that put an end to his 30-year rule. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
Judge Refaat banned live television coverage of the trial after the first two sessions because some Egyptians were distraught watching the 83-year-old former leader laying on a stretcher behind bars.
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