CAIRO: Former Egyptian Interior Minister Habib al-Adly pleaded not guilty as he went on trial in Cairo Tuesday, accused of ordering the shooting of demonstrators during protests that toppled the former regime.

Adly and six former aides made a brief appearance in a packed Cairo courthouse before Judge Adel Abdel-Salam Gomaa, who postponed the trial until May 21 to allow more time for defense lawyers as well for legal experts acting for families of victims.
All pleaded not guilty, according to lawyers who were present.

The former minister is accused of having ordered security forces to fire on demonstrators and is held responsible for insecurity that prevailed after police disappeared from the streets of Cairo in the early days of the protests.
According to an official toll, 846 people were killed and several thousand wounded during 18 days of massive nationwide street protests that forced president Hosni Mubarak to stand down on Feb. 11.

Othman al-Hifnawy, a lawyer for one of the committees that charged Adly with murder, said he was seeking the death sentence for Adly and his aides.
“If the defendants are not executed for the present accusations, they will be executed for using explosives against the protesters,” Hifnawy told reporters at the courthouse.

Around 50 people, including family members of slain protesters, staged a demonstration outside the court, shouting, “Death penalty for Adly! That dog must be immediately executed!”
The court was placed under high security, with truckloads of riot police and army tanks stationed outside.
Inside, the court was crowded with noisy spectators, with those unable to secure a place inside banging on the doors to be let in.

Adly was also the first member of Mubarak’s regime to be put on trial in another case of embezzlement, in which he has pleaded not guilty.
Adly, along with a German businessman and former finance minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali, is also accused of illegally profiteering from a deal to import new vehicle number plates which they allegedly bought directly without a public tender as required by law.

Two former Egyptian ministers, Sameh Fahmi and Mahmoud Latif, are also to face trial accused of selling natural gas to Israel at below market prices, leading to a loss of revenue to the state of $714 million.
Mubarak is under hospital arrest in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and had been due to be transferred to a military hospital following a medical exam.

But the prosecution said Tuesday it had been informed by Interior Minister Mansur Essawy that Mubarak’s health status “indicated the need for continuous monitoring which is only available in hospitals with highly skilled personnel and equipment … which does not currently allow his transfer.”

He is being investigated by prosecutors in connection with the violent suppression of the uprising as well as for allegations of corruption. His detention has been extended by 15 days, until mid-May.
The detention of his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, was also extended by 15 days, the attorney general said in a statement.