File Photo: Egypt's ousted president Hosni Mubarak sits inside a dock in April at the Police Academy on the outskirts of Cairo (Photo: Reuters)
Egypt's highest appeals court adjourned until January 21 the final trial of former president Hosni Mubarak over involvement in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 uprising that ended his 30-year rule.
This is the third time the former strongman has been tried in connection with conspiring to kill protesters during the popular revolt. This time the verdict is final and cannot be appealed.
The Court of Cassation on Thursday ordered the retrial, held at the High Court in central Cairo, be moved to a "suitable place," with a judicial source saying that would most likely be a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo, where the previous trials took place.
Mubarak, 87, was sentenced to life in prison in June 2012 for complicity in the killing of protesters during the 18-day revolt. That verdict was appealed and a new trial ordered.
During the first retrial, a criminal court in November 2014 dropped the murder charges against the former leader. That ruling was appealed by the prosecution and a new trial ordered.
The ailing president has for months been held at a military hospital south of Cairo.
He is serving a three-year sentence in a separate case in which he was convicted of the embezzlement of millions in public funds earmarked for the renovation of presidential palaces.
Several Mubarak-era figures have been cleared in cases including corruption and involvement in murder in recent months, raising fears that the old regime is regaining influence amid apparent impunity.
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