Egyptian television showed live images Monday of the trial of one of Hosni Mubarak's ministers, the first such broadcast aimed at placating protesters who have demanded greater transparency in holding the ex-president's allies to account. Protests that unseated Mubarak in February were driven by widespread anger at high-level corruption. The trials of his former associates are regarded as a credibility test for the military council that took power after his downfall. Protesters, who have been camped out in Tahrir Square since July 8 demanding deeper reform, accuse the army of moving too slowly and demanded that court sessions be held in public view. The television showed former Information Minister Anas El-Fekky in a white shirt. He appeared briefly before the judge and then returned to a cage in the court where defendants stand. Fekky was detained in February on suspicion of profiteering and wasting public funds. In response to the judge's questioning on the charges, Fekky said, “It's not true, sir.” A judge ordered on July 12 that cameras be allowed into sessions. Some recorded images were shown of a trial of another minister on Saturday, but this was the first live broadcast. The prosecutor charged Fekky with depriving the Radio and Television Union, which he ran as minister, of about $1.9 million in profits by exempting private television stations from fees for live broadcasts of the 2009-10 football season and the start of the 2010-11 season. It said Fekky had done this to further his “personal interests as part of an attempt to impose his control and media policies on these stations”.
