Clashes between rival protesters as Mubarak trial resumes

Clashes erupted Saturday in Cairo as former president Hosni Mubarak was back in court for a retrial over alleged complicity in the killing of protesters. Supporters of Mubarak and followers of his successor, ousted president Mohammed Mursi, engaged in fist fights outside the court, with the trial offering a rare excuse for the two sides to come face to face, Voice of Russia reported. Inside the court, Mubarak looked alert as he sat in a wheelchair. The case was adjourned to October 19, the latest deferral since the retrial started in May. Judge Mahmoud al-Rashidi also banned three sessions due to take place between October 19 and 21 from being broadcast citing security reasons. In those hearings, the court is due to listen to testimonies from a former prime minister and security officials. Mubarak, 85, is being retried for charges of failing to prevent the killing of more than 800 protesters in the uprising that forced him out of power in 2011. His interior minister, Habib al-Adly, and six former security chiefs also face the same charges. Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, face additional charges of squandering public funds. Mubarak has been under house arrest at a Cairo military hospital, after his release from prison in a corruption case last month.