Hosni Mubarak was wheeled into court yesterday as his defence began a five-day challenge to calls by the prosecution for the former Egyptian president to be hanged for the deaths of democracy protesters.
Egyptian television showed Mubarak, his eyes shielded by dark sunglasses, lying on a stretcher and under a blanket being pushed into the court where it said the trial got underway shortly after 10:00am.
The defence team headed by attorney Farid al-Deeb said it requested five days to challenge a call for the execution of Mubarak who was ousted from power in February last year after an 18-day popular revolt.
Chief prosecutor Mustafa Suleiman said at a previous hearing the ailing 83-year-old Mubarak must have ordered police to open fire on protesters during violence which left more than 850 people dead.