CAIRO: Egypt's once feared former interior minister Habib Al-Adly pleaded not guilty to corruption charges Saturday, in the first trial of a member of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's regime. Standing in the dock and dressed in white prison clothes, Adly denied accusations of money laundering and unlawful acquisition of public money. “It didn't happen,” he said twice, in a calm tone. Throughout the trial, dozens stood outside the Cairo criminal court to demand the death penalty for Adly, whose forces have long been accused by rights groups of torture. Riot police surrounded the courthouse in the Tagammu Khames suburb and three army tanks were positioned at the entrance ahead of the high profile trial. “The people want the execution of the murderer,” the protesters chanted, as others held banners depicting Adly with a noose around his neck. The corruption case against Adly has fallen short of demands of some pro-democracy activists who want to see him tried for human rights abuses. The former minister is currently being investigated for ordering the shooting of protesters with live bullets during 18 days of riots that brought down Mubarak. Shortly after the start of the hearing, Judge Al-Mohammadi Qunsua adjourned the session to April 2, after a heated exchange between the defence team and civil society lawyers attending the trial. Defense lawyer Mohammed Yussef Manaa had asked for more time to study the documents of the case, and refused to comment after the trial. Qunsua said Adly had used his position as a public servant to sell land to a contractor doing work for the interior ministry, in a deal worth 4.8 million Egyptian pounds (around $813,000). He also accused Adly of implication in money laundering to the tune of 4.5 million Egyptian pounds (around $762,000). Ibrahim Bassiuni, a civil society lawyer volunteering for the prosecution, called on Qunsua to allow television cameras into the courtroom.
