Egypt's deposed ex-president Hosni Mubarak has been formally summoned to trial on Wednesday,in spite of his deteriorating physical condition.
The 83-year-old Mubarak recently suffered a heart attack and has been refusing nourishment.
Nonetheless, Mubarak will be flown by helicopter from his hospital room in Sharm el Sheikh to the heliport of the national police academy outside Cairo where the trial will be held. And the junta has set up a bed for him in a steel cage that will hold all the prisoners inside the courtroom, in case he's not able to sit upright.It's only been six months since he was ousted from power, and the rush trial means that a lot of the things he's alleged to have done won't be discussed.
Mubarak and most of the other defendants are accused of conspiring to kill the 800 or so demonstrators who died at the hands of the security forces during the uprising.Mubarak and some of the others are also being charged with participating in a kickback scheme which the Mubaraks received luxury villas in the Sinai resort of Sharm el Sheikh in exchange for allowing Egyptian tycoon Hussein Salem a supply of natural gas at below-market prices, which he then sold to Israel for a profit. Salem managed to leave in time and is currently fighting extradition in Spain.
The rush, of course is designed to have Mubarak face 'justice' before he dies of natural causes. The current junta need a show trial for the same reasons the Jacobins did during the Terror in Revolutionary France - to divert the Mob and give them a target for their anger.
Also on trial in th esame courtroom will be Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal. Habib el-Adly, interior minister of Egypt under Mubarak, along with six of his aides are on trial at a separate location fo rsimilar charges related to the death of the demonstrators. El-Adly has already been convicted for corruption in two other trials and he and most or all of his aides will likely hang.
The trial is going to be held in front of a huge audience which will include relatives of the alleged victims who will be allowed to confront the Mubaraks, and it will be televised. A good time is guaranteed for all.
Mubarak and his sons will likely swing, since that's what the regime needs - unless the spectacle of Mubarak, helpless and near death rouses the Egyptians to pity, in which case they will probably hang the sons and incarcerate the elder Mubarak for the rest of what remains of his life.
-Selah-
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