Mubarak maintains his innocence in letter to Egypt court
Egypt's former president claims protesters provoked and attacked security forces
Cairo: Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak told the court trying him for complicity in the killing of protesters during last year's uprising that he was saddened by what he called "baseless" claims against him and expressed confidence in the judicial system and history to clear his name.
Mubarak's remarks were made in a memo published in the Tahrir newspaper on Thursday, a day after the former president's defence lawyers delivered their closing remarks in a seven-month trial that has transfixed the nation.
Lawyers confirmed Mubarak had presented a letter to the court, but did not know its contents.
In the letter, which filled three columns on the daily's front page, Mubarak, 83, struck a defiant tone, speaking in the third person and telling the court he has worked to defend his nation's honour and his people's blood.
"The unjust accusations and the baseless allegations I am facing sadden me. I am not someone who would shed his people's blood. I have spent my life defending them. Hosni Mubarak is not someone to smear his military honour with ill-gotten wealth," the published letter said.
If convicted of ordering a crackdown on protests, Mubarak could face the death penalty by hanging. Five of his top security officials face the same charges. Mubarak, his two sons and a business associate face corruption charges in a separate case.
Legitimate
In the memo, Mubarak said the demonstrators had "legitimate" demands, but accused them of provoking and attacking security forces. "Despite everything, I am totally confident in the fairness and justice of the Egyptian judiciary. I am totally confident in history's judgement, and totally confident in the great Egyptian people's judgement — free from the allegations of the tendentious and those seeking to sow sedition, and those receiving foreign funding."
Mubarak ended his memo with a famous line from an Arab poem, which appeared to an attempt to win sympathy from his readers and appeal to a well-respected Arab tradition. "My country is dear even if it is unjust to me. My people are honourable even if they were unfair to me," he wrote.
