Affrontement au Caire – 5 septembre 2011

Police testify in Mubarak trial amid clashes

aljazeera.net

05 Sep 2011

Police witness « not aware » of order to fire on protesters as scuffles break out at trial of Egypt’s former president.

A senior police witness in the trial of Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president, has insisted he was not aware of any orders to use automatic weapons against protesters.

General Hussein Saeed Mursi, in his testimony on Monday, said that police had been given clear instructions, however, to use live ammunition to protect the interior ministry from attack during the uprising which eventually overthrew Mubarak.

He said the order was given by Ahmed Ramzi, a senior officer who is one of the defendants in the trial.

Mursi said he had heard police generals on January 28, the fourth day of the uprising, saying that automatic weapons had been used.

Police officials also discussed the use of ambulances to carry « weapons and ammunition because police vehicles were being attacked » by protesters, the police official said.

Mursi, head of communication in the state security service, was in the police operations room during the uprising.

He was one of four police witnesses to be heard about the crackdown on protesters that left hundreds of people dead.

« In my 30 years of experience with state security, I have not heard of any incident where an order was given to use live ammunition against protesters, » he told the court. Read more…