Court scuffles delay trial of Egypt ex-minister

The trial of Egypt's ex-interior minister and six security commanders over the deaths of anti-regime protesters was postponed on Saturday after scuffles broke out in the packed courtroom. The hearing, in a courthouse on the outskirts of Cairo, lasted only "three or four minutes" according to a lawyer who was present. "There was a police cordon in front of the cage (where defendants are held) preventing us from seeing anyone," said the lawyer, Maha Yussef. "When we climbed on the benches to make sure they were there we discovered that there was nobody, and this triggered strong protests from the lawyers and the families of the victims," she said. The next hearing is scheduled for June 26. Habib al-Adly, once one of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's most trusted ministers, and the six other defendants are accused of ordering the shooting of protesters during the 18-day revolt that overthrew Mubarak in February. An official inquiry said at least 846 people died in the revolt, most of them from gunshot wounds. Earlier this month a court sentenced Adly to 12 years in jail for corruption.