Scuffles broke out between lawyers and security officers in a Cairo court on Saturday, disrupting the trial of Egypt’s reviled former interior minister and six other ministry officials on charges of killing protesters.
A witness told Reuters police lined up in front the defendants’ cage to block the seven officials from view, provoking an outcry from human rights lawyers, who then skirmished with army and police officers guarding the courtroom.
Habib al-Adli, one of the most hated members of the administration of deposed President Hosni Mubarak because of the brutality of his police force, and the other defendants are accused of killing protesters during Egypt’s uprising.
The trial was adjourned until June 26 after the scuffles.
Adli is one of the most senior Mubarak-era ministers to go on trial, as the generals who now rule Egypt seek to show their commitment to cracking down on abuse of power and corruption.
He was sentenced earlier this month to 12 years in prison on separate charges of profiteering and money laundering.
Several police stations were torched during the uprising which erupted on Jan. 25, partly because Egyptians were frustrated with a security apparatus that many say was corrupt and acted as if it was above the law.
More than 800 people died in the uprising and thousands were injured, when police fired rubber bullets, live ammunition, water cannon and teargas at peaceful protesters.
During the hearing, which lasted about five minutes, human rights lawyers demanded that Mubarak be added to the list of defendants in his capacity as the head of the supreme police council.