The much-expected trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and his sons, Alaa and Gamal, got underway in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, with the former leader pleading 'not guilty' to charges that he ordered the killing of hundreds of anti-government protesters. His sons also denied all charges of corruption levelled against them. At the trial, Mubarak's lawyer Farid Al-Deeb, asked for the testimony of Head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawy, who served as Defence Minister under Mubarak, and also for the testimony of former Intelligence Chief and former Vice President Omar Solaiman.

He also asked that Mubarak's case be separated from that of his Interior Minister, Habib Al-Adly.

After the dramatic session, the judge adjourned the trial until 15 August.

Mubarak, in need of medical surveillance, was in the meantime ordered by the Cairo Criminal Court to be transferred to the World Medical Centre in the  Cairo-Ismailya highway.

The decision not to return Mubarak to Sharm Al-Sheikh international hospital where he has been for months, aims at easing Mubarak's transportation to Court when needed.

His sons Alaa and Gamal have already been returned to their jail in Torah prison.

PANA reports that hundreds of pro-Mubarak supporters clashed with revolutionarists outside the Police Academy Hall, where tens suffered minor injuries.

Those who attended the trial included the plaintiffs or their representatives, the defence team, first or second degree relatives of the accused, relatives of the victims of the revolution, Egyptian media and authorised Foreign media representatives.

Around 600 people were admitted into the Police Academy hall in Cairo's 5th district on the outskirsts of the Egyptian Capital, where the trial was switched to for security reasons.

Only Egyptian State TV cameras were allowed into the hall for a live coverage of the event.

The trial of former Interior Minister Habib Al-Adly and his assistants will meanwhile start on Thursday.

A decision by the Cairo Criminal Court to combine the trials of Mubarak and his Interior Minister, Al-Adly, made last week, has drawn criticism from some and praise from others.

The interim ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has said it will not interfere in matters in the hands of the Judiciary which is facing heavy criticism from Egypt's revolutionary forces.

The Army has vowed to lead the nation to a democratically elected civilian administration before the end of the year.

Cairo's 5th district Police Academy was ironically built by Mubarak's longtime serving Interior Minister Al-Adly, and was named the Mubarak Police Academy before the fall of the man who ruled Egypt from October 1981 to February 2011.

Pana 04/08/2011