Mubarak: 'I Have Not Committed Any Such Crimes'

Ousted Egyptian leader caged in courtroom, pleads not guilty
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 3, 2011 3:34 AM CDT
Updated Aug 3, 2011 7:52 AM CDT
Hosni Mubarak Trial Opens in Cairo
An Egyptian anti-Mubarak protester flashes a noose during a protest outside the police academy in Cairo where the former leader is on trial.   (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Hosni Mubarak's day began in a Cairo courtroom, in a cage. The 83-year-old ousted Egyptian leader lay on a hospital bed contained by mesh and iron bars as he pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that ousted him. The Wall Street Journal reports Mubarak listened "impassively" to the list of charges, and added, "I have not committed any such crimes."

The scene, shown live on Egypt's state TV, was Egyptians' first look at their former president since Feb. 10, the day before his fall, when he gave a defiant speech refusing to resign. Mubarak and his nine co-defendants, including his two sons and former interior minister, all wore white prison uniforms. Outside the Cairo police academy where the trial is being held, hundreds of his opponents scuffled with angry supporters. (More Hosni Mubarak stories.)

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