Arabs Rise for Rights, Headlines, Human Rights, Middle East & North Africa

EGYPT: The Mubarak Show Goes Into Hiding

Cam McGrath

CAIRO, Aug 20 2011 (IPS) - In a shuttered Cairo café, Egyptians crane their necks to watch the courtroom drama unfolding on a small television screen mounted high on the wall. The camera pans across the crowded courtroom and zooms in on a frail old man lying on a stretcher inside the caged defendants’ box. Part Godfather, part Hannibal Lecter, he is the feared head of a powerful family at the centre of a web of violence and corruption. Beside him are his two sons, one known for shady business deals, the other groomed to head the cartel.

The eldest son leans over and kisses the recumbent patriarch on his forehead. We see his parched lips move as if to whisper something profound. Is it a blessing? A confession? A command? We never find out. The judge slams his gavel and the trial of former president Hosni Mubarak is back in session.

The live televised court case has captivated the public not just because it tests the resolve of Egypt’s military rulers to implement justice, but because it is the first time for an Arab leader overthrown by his own people to go on trial.

“I never thought I’d live to see this,” says contractor Wael Ragab, taking slow drags from a waterpipe at the back of the café. “I hope he hangs.”

Mubarak faces charges of corruption, abuse of power, and ordering the shooting of unarmed protesters during the uprising that led to his downfall in February. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.

The historic trial began on Aug. 3, just days into the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when Muslim families fast from dawn to dusk then spend evenings glued to their TV sets. Arab networks sink millions into producing special drama-filled serials to run every night during the month. But this season their soap operas have been overshadowed by the real-life drama appearing on daytime television.

“So far we’ve seen a lot of chaos, lawyers bickering, and outrageous claims,” says Ragab. “It’s like reality TV.”

Few could have foreseen the spectacle. Egypt’s military rulers, who seized power from Mubarak in February during massive anti-regime protests, appeared reluctant to prosecute their former chief. And when they eventually caved in to mounting public pressure, many expected the trial’s leading actor to be a no-show.

Mubarak’s lawyers say the 83-year-old is suffering cancer and heart disease, and is unable to stand or walk. But on the first day of the trial he appeared unexpectedly composed and alert as he was wheeled into the court on a gurney. In the next session, he had an intravenous needle impregnated in his left hand and took short naps during the hearing.

Many Egyptians watching the trial suspected Mubarak was exaggerating the seriousness of his health conditions to generate sympathy. But as the deposed dictator seemingly played to the camera, every nuance of his demeanour became fodder for gossip.

Television stills of the fallen pharaoh lying feebly on a stretcher behind the courtroom cage are all over the Internet. His haughty gesticulations and nose-picking during a hearing have become the butt of jokes. And within hours of declaring himself innocent of all charges, Mubarak’s croaky voice had been turned into a wildly popular mobile phone ringtone.

The former dictator is being tried along with his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, ex-interior minister Habib El-Adly, and six high-ranking police officers. The prosecution is attempting to show that the defendants (except his sons, who face only corruption charges) conspired to kill protesters during the 18-day uprising that left about 850 people dead and over 6,000 wounded.

The trial is being held at the Police Academy on the outskirts of Cairo. Those following the proceedings say they have all trappings of a Ramadan soap opera: powerful villains, caustic accusations, emotional theatrics, and key characters likely to suffer bouts of amnesia.

Scores of lawyers have packed the improvised courthouse, as well as journalists and the families of some of the victims. As the trial proceeds, the cast is expected to grow. Lawyers have identified more than 1,300 potential witnesses, including Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling military council.

The plot is thickening around the content of several boxes filled with guns, bullets and rifles that prosecutors say were used by police to kill protesters. Lawyers for the families of those killed have also submitted as evidence CDs and flash drives said to contain thousands of incriminating photos and videos – but many of the police records vital to their case have mysteriously gone missing.

Like any good Ramadan serial, this one has a conspiracy theory. In the opening session, a man posing as a lawyer for the plaintiffs accused Mubarak of being an impostor. He said the real Mubarak died in 2004, and the man on trial was his double – part of an elaborate U.S. and Israeli plot.

On Monday, Judge Ahmed Refaat ruled that television coverage of the trial would be prohibited after the first two court sessions turned into a chaotic media spectacle. The judge had struggled to maintain order as over 100 lawyers ostensibly representing the victims’ families shouted out of turn and scuffled over seats.

Legal experts say the live broadcast encouraged low-calibre lawyers seeking fame to grapple for the microphone and file long-winded and illogical motions. While crudely entertaining, their vulgar antics and poor grasp of jurisprudence threatened to undermine the case against Mubarak.

“The problem was that some lawyers were just there for show,” says Rawda Ahmed, a rights lawyer representing 16 of the victims’ families. “Removing the cameras will give more room to experienced lawyers so justice can take its course.”

Mubarak’s trial is set to resume Sep. 5. Analysts say it could take several months to review the evidence and hear witness testimonies. They expect cameras will be allowed back into the courtroom once a verdict is reached, meaning that unlike Ramadan serials, audiences will have to wait beyond the end of the holy month to see how this story ends. [END/IPS/MM/IP/HD/PI/RA/CM/SS/11]