Egypt ex-security chief back in court

The murder trial of Egypt's former interior minister Habib al-Adly, accused of ordering police to fire on protesters, and six of his deputies was adjourned on Sunday to September 5 after a turbulent session.The hearing was suspended four times in three hours by judge Ahmed Refaat, who was visibly exasperated by a long list of demands presented by the lawyers of shooting victims. The lawyers have demanded in particular that video recordings made by the intelligence services during events on January 25 be added to the exhibits. One also asked that the records of State Security, the intelligence service disbanded after the regime's fall in February, be destroyed. Another called for Adly to be tried together with former president Hosni Mubarak. Adly's trial opened on August 3, the same day Mubarak made his first court appearance in a stretcher along with his two sons, who are charged with corruption. All seven defendants, Adly and his deputes, were in the dock on Sunday, state television footage showed.Armoured vehicles guarded the police academy in a Cairo suburb where for security reasons the trial was being held, the broadcaster reported. Adly, sentenced in a previous trial to 12 years for corruption, is accused of ordering police to fire on protesters during the 18-day revolt that started on January 25 and toppled the regime. About 850 people were killed and thousands wounded during the tumultuous uprising. Both Adly and Mubarak, who is also charged with premeditated murder, could be executed if convicted. The next hearing in the former president's trial is scheduled for Monday.