Mubarak trial a prism for Egyptian passions

Cairo: It's a dangerous time to bring Hosni Mubarak to justice. The toppled Egyptian president is supposed to go on trial next week on charges of stealing millions of dollars from the state and ordering a crackdown that killed more than 800 protesters during last winter's uprising.

A guilty verdict could result in the death penalty. Trying the man who ruled Egypt with almost unfettered power for three decades is risky for the military council that replaced him.

The proceedings are certain to offer a glimpse into the financial dealings and political alliances Mubarak forged to control the country, and the prospect of revealing state secrets has led to widespread belief that the generals will find a way to postpone the trial.

But any move that appears to allow Mubarak to slip from justice is sure to provoke an outraged backlash from Egyptians who regard their former leader as a tyrant.

They want him called to account for filling jails with political opponents and running a government that enriched tycoons and friends in the ruling party. That sentiment is potent in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where protesters march beneath banners depicting the deposed president with a noose around his neck.

Seeking justice

"Mubarak brought corruption, ignorance, chronic diseases to millions of Egyptians, poverty," said Ahmad Saeed Badawi, a 21-year-old university student.

"He is the man behind every bad thing this country is facing, and that's why he should be tried for everything he did. It would be a great symbol for this country's future, that whoever mistreats his people will go through the same fate."

Few would have imagined months ago that the 83-year-old leader with the aloof air and hidden palaces would ever appear before a judge.

But Mubarak is now under house arrest, his health reported to be worsening after suffering a heart attack in April.

His condition means his trial may be held in a hospital room along the Red Sea where he is now ensconced.

His declining health evokes less rancour from some Egyptians, who see an ill man overwhelmed in later years by the country's rising problems, the death of a grandson and pressure from his wife, Suzanne, to prepare his son Jamal for succession.

"I think the president was looking at the macro picture of Egypt as if glancing down from an airplane," said Tarek Selim, an economics professor at the American University in Cairo.

"He didn't see his country from the ground. The people close to him didn't tell him what was going on. He was aging and his wife wanted Gamal to be the centre of attention."

Theatrics

But the prevailing view is that the reports of poor health are a ruse and are theatrics to save him from prison.

Many are sceptical that Mubarak and former Interior Minister Habib Al Adly, who is also charged with the murder of protesters, will be tried on August 3.

Ramadan begins that week and some say Mubarak's lawyer, who in recent weeks has said his client has stomach cancer and lapses into comas, will announce a new health crisis in the hours before the judge takes the bench.

Charges of financial crimes suggest that Mubarak hid a fortune of at least $470 million (Dh1.73 billion) in international bank accounts.

Much of it was amassed beginning in the 1990s when party officials and businessmen profited from privatisation and the regime's craving for real estate.

Legal experts predict that convicting Mubarak of financial crimes may be difficult because documents and other evidence were probably destroyed during the regime's final days.

A government investigation released in April concluded that Mubarak was responsible for the violent response by police that led to the deaths of at least 846 people during the revolution.