Mubarak will stand trial this week: Court

Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will go on trial beginning Wednesday — and Egyptians will get to watch the proceedings on TV, court officials announced Sunday.

Mubarak has been confined to a hospital in the seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for months. Many Egyptians had viewed Mubarak’s illness as a ploy used by the ruling military council — which took over after Mubarak’s ouster in February — to avoid publicly humiliating its former leader in a trial.

The 83-year-old, who ruled Egypt for three decades, is charged with corruption and ordering the killings of protesters earlier this year. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

“Our voices should be heard,” said Mohamed Ashour, head of the criminal court. “I want to tell the prosecutor to make Mubarak’s trial prompt, as it’s been so long in coming.”

To placate skeptical citizens, the trial will be held in a large hall in Cairo that seats 600 people — six times more than a regular courtroom. It also will be broadcast on state television.