The Cassation Court postponed to November 3 the retrial of former president Hosni Mubarak over his involvement in killing peaceful protesters during the 2011 January revolution.

At the beginning of the hearing, the court received a memo from the Cairo Security Directorate notifying it that it could not bring Mubarak from his detention venue (the Maadi Armed Forces Hospital) to the court premises by land transport means due to his health condition that requires constant medical attention.

The memo further noted that Mubarak can be brought to the court via air transport but this option could not be applied in this case because the Cassation Court is located at the High Court of Justice in Downtown Cairo, where no landing spots are available.

The court, therefore, adjourned the retrial to enforce a previous ruling about taking the measures necessary to bring Mubarak to the court HQ and change the venue of the trial to another suitable place.

Mubarak, 87, was originally sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for conspiring to murder 239 demonstrators, triggering chaos and creating a security vacuum during the 18-day revolt, but an appeals court ordered a retrial.

In that retrial, an Egyptian court in November dropped its case against him, acquitting him and the other co-defendants.

But the public prosecution appealed the verdict and the Cassation Court accepted the prosecution's appeal and said Mubarak would be tried alone on November 5. 

Source : MENA