On the first day of the trial of former Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak, a lawyer in the courtroom declared that Mubarak had actually died in 2004 and that the man believed to be Mubarak was an imposter imposed on Egypt in some Israeli-American conspiracy, according to Britain’s Telegraph newspaper.
Hamad Siddik leveled the charge on Wednesday, as a multitude of lawyers were reportedly screaming at the judge, according to the newspaper.
“What does what you’re saying have to do with the trial?,” the judge responded. (DICTATOR CAGED: Mubarak faces the music as trial opens)
Appearing in the courtroom on a hospital gurney flanked by his sons, who are also on trial for corruption, Mubarak denied all charges that he was in any way responsible for the roughly 800 deaths resulting from his government’s attempts to put down the Egyptian uprising that ultimately forced him from power. Mubarak’s appearance was his first public one since he was deposed on Feb. 11 after three decades of rule.
If convicted, Mubarak could face the death penalty. The trial will resume Aug. 15, according to The Washington Post.