Egypt: Update on Mubarak Trial

Former President Hosni Mubarak has been cleared and is healthy enough to travel to Cairo on Wednesday to stand trial, Health Minister Amr Helmy reports. Egyptian Interior Minister Mansour el-Essawy will move Mubarak from the Sharm el-Sheikh resort where the former leader is detained. The Interior Minister also inspected the courtroom where Mubarak’s trial is to be held “to discuss the final plan for securing the trial and surrounding area.”

Additionally, the venue for the trial has also changed. The trial will now take place on the outskirts of Cairo in a police academy instead of at a convention center in the heart of the city in an effort to avoid unnecessary security issues. “The change in venue was announced by Judge El-Sayed Abdel-aziz Omar,” the Washington Post reports, “who according to law is in charge of deciding the trial location.” Up to 600 people will be able to attend the trial in an auditorium-style hall. State television will be the only media outlet allowed to film the event, but other networks will have access to stream the live video footage.

Mubarak is still in weak condition, suffering from malnutrition, a loss of appetite and depression. Nasser Amin, a human rights lawyer planning to attend the trial, says “Mubarak must now appear in court or risk the maximum penalty of execution if he is tried in absentia and found guilty.”