Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 27 december 2018

Egypt’s 2 ex-presidents appear in the same courtroom

By SAMY MAGDY November 2016, the Court sands of them along with
Associated Press of Cassation, Egypt’s fi- secular activists behind the
CAIRO (AP) — Two former nal recourse for appeals 2011 uprising.
Egyptian presidents ap- in criminal cases, annulled “If I talk, I will open many
peared Wednesday in the the sentence and ordered subjects that I am barred
same Cairo courtroom, a retrial of the defendants. from discussing without per-
with Hosni Mubarak testify- During two hours of testimo- mission,” the former presi-
ing in a retrial of Moham- ny, Mubarak said Wednes- dent said.
med Morsi on charges re- day that former spy chief Mubarak was freed last
lated to prison breaks at and vice president Omar year, ending nearly six
the height of the 2011 upris- Suleiman told him on Jan. years of legal proceedings
ing that toppled Mubarak. 29, 2011, that at least 800 against him. He was acquit-
The 90-year-old Mubarak, armed people crossed into ted by the country’s top
whose nearly three-de- the norther part of Sinai appeals court of charges
cade rule was ended by Peninsula, through tunnels that he ordered the kill-
a popular uprising in 2011, from Gaza with help from ing of protesters during the
entered the courtroom the Muslim Brotherhood. 2011 uprising.
with his two sons Alaa and Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, center, arrives with “They entered Egypt Mubarak has already
Gamal. He carried a cane his sons Alaa, left, and Gamal, right, to testify, in a courtroom at through Gaza and had served a three-year sen-
and wore a dark blue suit the National Police Academy in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Dec. weapons. ... They headed tence for embezzling state
and matching tie. He ap- 26, 2018. toward the prisons to re- funds in connection with
peared physically well and Associated Press lease prisoners belonging the protesters’ case.
mentally sharp though his the government. and the other Brotherhood to Hezbollah, Hamas and Morsi, who wore a blue
speech was slow at times. The jailed former leader leaders escaped two days the Muslim Brotherhood,” jumpsuit, did not make use
Chief Judge Mohammed is involved in four lengthy after they were detained Mubarak said, referring to of the opportunity offered
Sherin allowed Mubarak to trials in different cases, in- as Mubarak’s security forc- Lebanon’s Hezbollah mili- to defendants to question
take a seat while testifying. cluding on charges of un- es tried to undercut the tant group and Hamas mili- Mubarak.
The hearing took place dermining national security planned protests. tants who have ruled Gaza Muslim Brotherhood lead-
amid heavy security in a by conspiring with foreign At the time, authorities also since 2007. er Mohammed el-Beltagi,
police facility in a southern groups and orchestrating a cut off internet access and Mubarak refused to answer a defendant in the case,
Cairo suburb. prison break. mobile phone networks, most questions, saying he questioned Mubarak but
Morsi, 67, and the Muslim Wednesday’s case is root- crippling communication needs permission from the was sentenced to two
Brotherhood swiftly rose ed in the 2011 escape of among the protesters and military and President Ab- years in prison for insult-
to power in elections after more than 20,000 inmates with the outside world. del-Fattah el-Sissi, who led ing the judiciary after the
Mubarak’s ouster, only to from Egyptian prisons -- in- In June 2015, the Cairo the military’s 2013 ouster chief judge said el-Beltagi
find themselves imprisoned cluding Morsi and other Criminal Court issued sen- of Morsi, Egypt’s first freely ridiculed the court’s deci-
a year later when millions Muslim Brotherhood mem- tences of death and life elected president. El-Sissi sion to stop him from asking
protested against them for bers -- during the early imprisonment against Morsi has since overseen a mas- more questions.
abuse of power, leading days of the 18-day upris- and other key figures in the sive crackdown on Morsi’s The chief judge adjourned
the military to overthrow ing against Mubarak. Morsi Brotherhood. However, in supporters, jailing thou- the hearings until Jan. 24.q

Russia: Israeli strike on Syria threatened civilian flights

By NATALIYA VASILYEVA Damascus-bound plane to and Israel.
Associated Press the Russian air base in He- The Syrian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW (AP) — The Rus- meimeem in Syria’s coastal in a statement Wednes-
sian military on Wednesday province of Latakia. day accused Israel of ex-
criticized an alleged Israeli Konashenkov said the Syr- acerbating the crisis in the
airstrike near the Syrian ian air defense forces shot country and standing in the
capital, saying it has en- down 14 of the 16 precision- way of the government’s
dangered civilian flights. guided bombs dropped war on terrorism.
Russian Defense Ministry by the Israeli jets, while the In messages sent to the
spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor remaining two hit a Syrian U.N. secretary-general and
Konashenkov said that six military depot 7 kilometers the president of the Securi-
Israeli F-16 jets launched a (about 4.3 miles) west of ty Council, the ministry said
“provocative” raid at the Damascus, injuring three the Israeli airstrike wouldn’t
moment when two civil- Syrian soldiers. have been launched if it
ian airliners were preparing It wasn’t clear if the Syrian wasn’t for what it called
to land in Damascus and military used any of the ad- “unlimited” U.S. support for
Beirut, creating a “direct Israeli Air Force acrobatic team flies during a graduation vanced S-300 air defense Israel.
threat” to the aircraft. ceremony for new pilots in Hatserim air force base near the missile systems that Russia Israel has carried out doz-
Lebanon’s acting Trans- southern Israeli city of Beersheba, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018. delivered in October to ens of airstrikes in Syria,
Associated Press
port Minister Youssef Fenia- beef up its air defenses. The most of them believed to
nos later on Wednesday Fenianos didn’t provide de- The Syrian military didn’t move followed the Sept. 17 have been aimed at Ira-
confirmed Konashenkov’s tails, but said he reported fully engage its air defense downing of a Russian re- nian arms shipments to the
account, saying the two the incident to the prime assets to avoid acciden- connaissance plane by Syr- Hezbollah militant group.
airplanes in Lebanese air- minister-designate. He said tally hitting the passenger ian forces responding to an Both Iran and Hezbollah
space “narrowly” escaped the Lebanese government jets, Konashenkov said. He Israeli air raid, an incident have been fighting along-
Israeli warplanes, averting will present a complaint to added that Syrian air traffic that strained previously side the forces of Syrian
a “human catastrophe.” the U.N. Security Council. controllers redirected the warm ties between Russia President Bashar Assad. q