A court yesterday postponed the case against former Egyptian interior minister Habib al-Adli over the killing of protesters until next week so it would coincide with the start of the trial of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and his sons, state media reported.
The case will be postponed until Wednesday next week, the state-owned Nile News reported. The trial of Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, who was once seen as a future president, over the killing of demonstrators starts on that date.
Adli is reviled by protesters after the police force he commanded fired live ammunition, teargas and water cannon to try to break up protests against Mubarak, who was forced out of office in February after 18 days of demonstrations. He has already been sentenced to 12 years on corruption charges.
Hundreds of protesters, including families of victims who died during the revolt, hurled stones at a convoy of vans taking Adli from court on after a judge delayed his murder trial.
Mubarak, 83, has been hospitalized since April, when he was first questioned. Sources said earlier this month his trial was likely to take place in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where he is in hospital, and not in Cairo.
Meanwhile, strained relations between Egyptian activists and the country’s military rulers appeared close to breaking point on Sunday after dozens of protesters were attacked by assailants during a rally in Cairo at the weekend.
The march on Saturday evening began from Tahrir Square, the heart of the revolution, and was heading toward Cairo’s defense ministry when it came under attack by armed baltagiya (thugs). The unidentified assailants appeared to be sympathetic to the ruling generals, who were a pillar of the old regime.
Thousands of placard-wielding and chanting protesters, who had approached the ministry in the Abbasyia District, were blocked en route by tanks and hundreds of soldiers stationed behind a makeshift barrier of metal frames and barbed wire. They found themselves trapped and were set upon by armed thugs wielding swords, knives and hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails.
Among the protesters was Hossam El-Hamalawy, a prominent activist, who later wrote on his blog: “We stood our ground, demanding we pass. We were refused. The attack started. Young men carrying swords and knives flocked to our right, while others were stoning us from the side streets. Soldiers kept firing their machine guns into the air, to be followed later by a chopper circulating around our heads. It was a war zone in every sense of the word.”
Dozens were injured in the chaos, as they were showered with rocks hurled from rooftops, while others were hurt in the ensuing stampede. The injured, estimated to run into hundreds, were ferried to hospitals. It was reported that at least one journalist was attacked.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
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