Egypt’s Mubarak, Morsi come face to face in court

Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in a popular uprising in 2011 has come face to face for the first time in court with Mohamed Morsi, who became the country’s first democratically elected president after the revolution.

Mubarak was in court to testify as part of a retrial in which Morsi and others are accused of orchestrating prison breaks and breaches of Egypt’s eastern border during the uprising that forced Mubarak from power in February 2011.

Mubarak, 90, gave evidence for an hour and a half at the high-security prison complex in southern Cairo where Morsi is detained. Wearing a dark suit and using a walking stick, he was escorted into the courtroom by his two sons.

Morsi was dressed in prison overalls and seated in a thick glass and metal cage running down one side of the courtroom, like other senior figures of the Brotherhood who are defendants in the case.

A visibly frail Mubarak, who was given a chair at the witness stand due to his age, was asked dozens of questions by the judge about security developments as the uprising against his 30-year rule gathered pace.

Speaking in a gravelly voice that gradually became stronger, he at times appeared impatient, saying he had no information or details.

The retrial began in February 2017. Twenty members of the Brotherhood are facing trial in addition to Morsi, including the group’s Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie.

READ: Egypt court reduces prison term of top Muslim Brotherhood leader to 10 years