Egypt court to hear testimony from top officials

EGYPT: The court trying Hosni Mubarak over the killing of protesters in January on Wednesday summoned the head of Egypt's ruling military council and other top officials to give testimony next week that could prove decisive in determining the fate of the ousted president.

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak's defence minister for 20 years and now leader of the army council, and others will give their testimony behind closed doors, a move that may not please Egyptians who have demanded a transparent trial.

Judge Ahmed Refaat said the court that has convened four times since Aug. 3 would meet on a daily basis next week, accelerating the trial of Mubarak who is charged with conspiring to kill protesters and inciting some officers to use live ammunition.

He stunned the court at the end of Wednesday's session by calling as witnesses Tantawi, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Sami Enan, Mubarak's former intelligence chief and briefly vice president Omar Suleiman and Interior Minister Mansour el-Essawy. Tantawi will testify on Sept. 11.

"Today's decision is a big surprise that will transform the case and take us into any entirely different field," plaintiff lawyer Hassan Abou El Einein told Reuters. Cairo,Thuesday, Reuters