time confidant of Hosni Mubarak failed Sunday to attend a court session in which he was expected to offer highly anticipated testimony about the former president's alleged role in the death of protesters. State TV said Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi was requested to return to court next week. The report on Egyptian State TV did not give a reason for Tantawi's absence in court, but a defense lawyer said Tantawi told the court he was dealing with the fallout after the storming of the Israeli Embassy in Cairo on Friday by protest mobs. The delay is a major disappointment for Egyptians impatient to have Mubarak-era officials pressed for details on the inner workings of the regime. The court has asked Tantawi and other former regime insiders to take the stand in the Mubarak trial. The report said the judge requested Tantawi to appear Sept. 24. It is unprecedented for a court in Egypt to summon such high-level figures — particularly authorities from the highly secretive military and intelligence services. Assem Qandil, a lawyer for one of the defendants tried along with Mubarak, said that Tantawi notified the court in a written statement that he couldn't show up because of the tensions after the embassy assault. Qandil, who represents a former senior security official, said that Tantawi offered to send written testimony, but “the judge refused and reissued a request for Tantawi to show up in court.”
