Cairo: Egyptian authorities have tightened security ahead of the trial on Wednesday of former president Hosni Mubarak and top aides on charges of ordering a deadly crackdown on peaceful protesters earlier this year.
The police and the army will jointly secure the unprecedented trial, which will be held at a makeshift courtroom in the Police Academy on the outskirts of Cairo.
"Mubarak has been notified of a summons to appear at the trial," said Interior Minister Mansour Al Essawi.
He added that a tight security plan has been drawn up to transport Mubarak from a hospital in the Red sea resort town of Sharm Al Shaikh to the court building.
A cage in the courtroom
Al Essawi Monday inspected the 1,000-strong courtroom where a cage has been installed. He confirmed that Mubarak will appear at the first session of the trial. "We do not want to have tensions in the street if Mubarak didn't attend the trial. We have no interest in keeping him in Sharm Al Shaikh," he added in remarks published on Tuesday.
The proceedings will be broadcast live on state television. Ahmad Refaat, the presiding judge of the court hearing the case has said the trial sessions will be held on a daily basis until a verdict is issued.
Heart attack
Mubarak, 83, has been staying at a hospital in Sharm Al Shaikh receiving treatment since April when he reportedly suffered a heart attack. He has not been seen in public since he was ousted in a popular revolt in February after 30 years in power.
He will be flown from the hospital into the Police academy aboard an army helicopter, according to Al Essawi. He added that an ambulance will then carry him from the academy's airstrip to the courtroom - a distance of 500 metres.
It is not clear yet if Mubarak will be carried into the dock or allowed to lie on a bed outside it.
Well-trained bodyguards have been assigned for the judges who will hear the case.
Standing the same trial are former interior minister Habib Al Adly and six aides. Also to appear at the courtroom on the same charges are Mubarak's two sons, Ala'a and Jamal. All of them are being held in a prison south of Cairo.
They will be driven to the court building in armoured vehicles, according to security sources.
Anti-riot police will be deployed along the roads leading to the courtroom and outside it. Mubarak's supporters have vowed to hold protests near the court building against what they say is humiliation for an "elderly leader".
If convicted, the defendants would face death setences, according to judicial sources. Around 850 people were killed in the anti-Mubarak revolt.
Mubarak's trial at a glance
- The opening trial session is due to start at 10am Cairo time (8GMT)
- Relatives of slain protesters, lawyers, witnesses and media people are allowed to attend after getting special permits.
- The trial will be held on a daily basis until a verdict is issued.
- The proceedings will be shown live on official Egyptian TV and state-run Nile and Egyptian Satellite channels.
- It is the first time an Egyptian ruler stands trial.
- The other defendants are Mubarak's two sons, ex-interior minister Habib Al Adly and six senior policemen.
