Former Mubarak interior minister pleads not guilty to corruption charges

Egypt's former interior minister Habib al-Adly pleaded not guilty to corruption charges on Saturday in the first trial of a member of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's regime.

Reuters

Adly denied accusations of money-laundering and unlawful acquisition of public money.

Judge Al-Mohammadi Qunsua adjourned the hearing to 2 April after a heated exchange between the defence team and civil society lawyers attending the trial.

Defence lawyer Mohammed Yussef Manaa had asked for more time to study the documents of the case and refused to comment after the trial.

Qunsua said Adly had used his position to sell land to a contractor to the interior ministry, in a deal worth 4.8 million Egyptian pounds (582,000 euros) and claimed he was involved with money-laundering to the tune of 4.5 million Egyptian pounds (545,000 euros).

A crowd outside the court demanded the death penalty, calling Adly a murderer. He is also being investigated for ordering the shooting of protesters and creating a security vacuum.

The former minister was arrested last month as part of a corruption investigation by the new authorities, along with several former ministers and senior members of Mubarak's National Democratic Party.