Odishatv Bureau
Cairo: Toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is set to face court for a second time today on charges of corruption and ordering the killing of anti-regime protesters, over a week after the ailing former leader appeared before a judge on a stretcher and pleaded not guilty.

The second hearing in the historic trial could decide if the head of the ruling military council, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, will take the stand as a witness to give testimony on Mubarak`s role in trying to suppress the 18-day uprising.

Tantawi, who was defence minister for two decades under Mubarak, heads the military council that took power when Mubarak was ousted on February 11 by the mass protests.

In a development that has gripped the Arab world, Mubarak first appeared in court on August 3, wheeled in on a stretcher in a cage.

He was flown in from the Red Sea resort town of Sharam el-Sheikh, where he is under arrest in a hospital, by a helicopter and brought to the courtroom on a stretcher with an intravenous drip.

The trial of Egypt`s former interior minister Habib Al-Adil, also accused of ordering firing on protesters, and six of his deputies resumed under tight security in Cairo yesterday.

"Tantawi`s testimony would help the court determine whether Mubarak gave orders to Interior Minister Habib al-Adli to fire at protesters or whether Adli was acting independently," a member of the defence team, was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

After the first session, a new board of advocates had volunteered to present the case for the plaintiffs - the families of the people killed and injured during the nationwide revolt in February, that ousted Mubarak`s three- decade-old regime.

"Four groups are in conflict in the court room and the panel of judges with have the final say," an advocate, Ahmed Sayf-al-Islam, associated with the trial said.

The session, however, will not be aired live this time because it would be legally improper to do so, he said.

Besides the killing of protesters during the massive uprising, the 83-year-old former strongman has been charged with involvement in corruption and abuse of power. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

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