Egypt changes Mubarak trial venue

31 July 2011 Last updated at 01:50 GMT Hosni Mubarak is currently in a hospital in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh Egyptian authorities say the trial of deposed President Hosni Mubarak's trial will be moved from a Cairo convention centre, for security reasons.

The trial, due to open on Wednesday, will now be held at a police academy further from the city centre.

Mr Mubarak, 83, has been under arrest at a hospital in the coastal resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh since April.

He is charged with corruption and ordering the killing of protesters before he was toppled in February.

Appeals court president Abdel Aziz Omar said Mr Mubarak's trial was being moved "because it is difficult to guarantee the protection of the other place".

The police academy auditorium where the trial will now be held can hold 600 people, Assistant Justice Minister Mohammed Munie told Egypt's Mena news agency.

A cage for the defendants has already been prepared, he said.

Protesters still demonstrating in Egypt have made swift prosecution of officials from the former regime a key demand.

Family trial

Doctors have said Mr Mubarak's condition is poor, that he has lost weight from refusing food and is suffering from depression. But the government has said he is well enough to be moved to Cairo for trial.

Mr Mubarak is expected to be tried alongside his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, and former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, as well as six senior police officials.

Adly has already been sentenced to 12 years in jail for corruption.

The justice minister has said Mr Mubarak could face the death penalty if found guilty of murder.

Mr Mubarak was deposed on 11 February, after 18 days of mass demonstrations in which some 850 people were killed.

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Mubarak to be tried over deaths

24 May 2011 Last updated at 14:51 GMT Hosni Mubarak is being held in a military hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh after reporting heart problems Egypt's ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons are to be tried over the deaths of anti-government protesters, judicial officials say.

Mr Mubarak, who was ousted in February, is being detained at a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

He and his wife also face allegations of illegally acquiring wealth while they were in power for 30 years.

The couple's two sons, Alaa and Gamal, are being held in Cairo's Tora prison and also face fraud charges.

The three men have been charged with "premeditated murder of some participants in the peaceful protests of the 25 January revolution," the country's state news agency reported the prosecutor general as saying.

More than 800 people died in the weeks-long crackdown that preceded Mr Mubarak's departure.

The charges come after renewed calls for protests on Friday to demand the trial of the Mubarak family as well as the lifting of emergency law.

Continue reading the main story Jon Leyne BBC News, Cairo

Hosni Mubarak and his sons Gamal and Alaa are accused of planning the killing of protesters in the revolution that began on 25 January. The aim, according to the accusation was to kill some and to intimidate others.

The former president is accused of accepting gifts, including a palace and four villas at the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. He is also accused of conspiring with businessman Hussein Salem, who has also been charged, to sell gas cheaply to Israel and thus defraud the Egyptian government of many millions of dollars.

According to one report, a medical team is now visiting Mr Mubarak at the hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh to see if he is well enough to travel to Cairo - either to be moved to hospital in the capital or into the prison where his two sons are already being held.

Egypt's military-led administration appears to be responding to public pressure to bring the former first family to trial, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo.

Frozen accounts

The 83-year-old former leader was admitted to Sharm el-Sheikh's military hospital in April with reported heart problems.

He and his wife Suzanne - who was also recently examined for possible heart problems after falling ill - have already been questioned at the Red Sea resort on charges of profiteering.

Reformers in Egypt believe the Mubarak family accumulated a fortune worth tens of billions of dollars while in power.

The Mubaraks have denied this, and little hard evidence has yet been made public. However their bank accounts in Cairo and in Switzerland have been frozen.

Suzanne Mubarak was not mentioned in Tuesday's charges announcement, but her situation may have brought the latest development about, adds our correspondent.

Suzanne Mubarak was released from custody after handing over a villa and ?2m from Cairo bank accounts

The 70-year-old was released from custody last week after she returned turned over a villa in a Cairo suburb and $3m (?1.9m) held in bank accounts in Egypt. Her release prompted a backlash, with many fearing the Mubaraks may be negotiating some form of amnesty.

More than 20 Mubarak-era ministers and businessmen linked to the regime have been detained since February's uprising.

Earlier this month, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly was sentenced to 12 years in jail on charges of money-laundering and profiteering.

Adly also faces separate charges of ordering troops to fire on demonstrators. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

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