Mubarak plane arrives in Sharm: tv

A plane due to take former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak from hospital to attend his murder trial in a Cairo suburb has arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egyptian television reported Wednesday.

Mubarak, whose trial begins later, has been under arrest in a hospital in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he is receiving treatment for a heart condition.

"The aircraft that will take Mubarak to the police academy has landed in Sharm el-Sheikh," public television reported, referring to the venue of his trial in a Cairo suburb for security reasons.

Mubarak was to be transferred at an unspecified time to Cairo, where he faced charges of corruption and murder of demonstrators during the uprising that overthrew him in February.

He received the court summons on Monday, state media reported, but it was not yet clear whether his doctors, who say the 83-year-old is weak, will sign off on transferring him to court.

Interior Minister Mansur Essawy told the independent Al-Masry Al-Yom newspaper that "we will transport (Mubarak) in a military plane to his trial location."

Essawy added: "We do not want to see tension among the people in the street because of Mubarak`s absence."

By transferring the ex-president, who was forced to resign in February after a nationwide revolt, the interior ministry would be carrying out the state prosecutor`s request to ensure that Mubarak attends the opening of his trial.

But previous requests to transfer Mubarak to a Cairo prison or military hospital were not followed through.

Mubarak is due to go on trial with his two sons, his former interior minister and six police commanders. A businessman friend who escaped to Spain will be tried in absentia. (*)

Source: ANTARA