Cairo: A team of Kuwaiti lawyers, who have volunteered to defend former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, left Cairo on Thursday for Kuwait after the court trying the former strongman summoned military rulers to testify behind closed doors.
"We have decided to leave Egypt after the court decision to hear Hussain Tantawi, the chief of the (ruling) Supreme Council of the Armed Forces; Samy Anan, the chief of the army staff; and Omar Sulaiman, the former chief of the Egyptian intelligence agency behind closed doors," the team said in a statement before departure.
The lawyers added they would return when the trial becomes public again. They attended the fourth hearing session of the historic trial on Wednesday.
"We feel embarrassed enough to attend the closed sessions because they are pertaining to Egypt's national security."
The court trying Mubarak on charges of ordering the killing of protests and corruption, said Wednesday it would start from Sunday cross-examining incumbent and former officials.
On Thursday, the court began hearing two police witnesses amid tight security measures.
One witness told the court that there were orders to prevent demonstrations "by all means" on January 28, dubbed the Friday of Rage during a popular revolt against Mubarak's rule, Egyptian state television reported.
Also standing the same trial are former interior minister Habib al-Adly, ex-senior policemen and Mubarak's two sons.
At least 846 people were killed during the uprising that eventually forced Mubarak to step down in February.
