Mubarak, Morsi Appear in Same Courtroom

By: Yassmine ElSayed

CAIRO, Dec. 26 (SEE) - Former Presidents Mohamed Hosni Mubarak and Mohamed Morsi appeared today in the same courtroom, when Mubarak was testifying in a retrial of Morsi on charges related to prison breaks during 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak.

In an exclusive broadcast, Sada Elbalad Tv. aired the hearing after Mubarak, 90, arrived to the courtroom with his two sons Alaa and Gamal. He looked physically well and mentally sharp. Chief Judge Mohammed Sherin allowed Mubarak to take a seat while testifying.

The hearing took place amid heavy security in a police facility in a southern Cairo suburb.

Jailed former leader Morsi, 67, is involved in four lengthy trials in different cases, including on charges of undermining national security by conspiring with foreign groups and orchestrating a prison break.

Wednesday’s case is about the escape of more than 20,000 inmates from Egyptian prisons -- including Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood members -- during the early days of the 18-day uprising against Mubarak in 2011. Morsi and the other Brotherhood leaders escaped two days after they were detained as Mubarak’s security forces tried to undercut the planned protests.

In June 2015, the Cairo Criminal Court issued sentences of death and life imprisonment against Morsi and other key figures in the Brotherhood. However, in November 2016, the Court of Cassation, Egypt’s final recourse for appeals in criminal cases, annulled the sentence and ordered a retrial of the defendants.

During two hours of testimony, Mubarak said that former spy chief and vice president Omar Suleiman told him on Jan. 29, 2011, that at least 800 armed people crossed into the northern part of Sinai Peninsula, through tunnels from Gaza with help from the Muslim Brotherhood.

“They entered Egypt through Gaza and had weapons. ... They headed toward the prisons to release prisoners belonging to Hezbollah, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood,” Mubarak said, referring to Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group and Hamas who have ruled Gaza since 2007.

Mubarak refused to answer most questions, saying he needs permission from the military and President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

“If I talk, I will open many subjects that I am barred from discussing without permission,” the former president said.

Mubarak was freed last year, ending nearly six years of legal proceedings against him. He was acquitted by the country’s top appeals court of charges that he ordered the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising.

Mubarak has already served a three-year sentence for embezzling state funds in connection with the protesters’ case.

Morsi, who wore a blue jumpsuit, did not make use of the opportunity offered to defendants to question Mubarak.

The chief judge adjourned the hearings until Jan. 24.