Egypt Court Adjourns Mubarak Trial to September 14

An Egyptian court on Sunday adjourned the murder and corruption retrial of former strongman Hosni Mubarak, his sons and security commanders to September 14.

Mubarak, who was freed from prison and placed under house arrest on Thursday, attended the retrial, along with the other defendants.

It was the first time Mubarak had been seen in public since he left Tora prison on Thursday, after being cleared for pre-trial release by a court.

He was immediately placed under house arrest by interim prime minister Hazem el-Beblawi, on the basis of powers granted to him under the country's state of emergency.

On Thursday, the 85-year-old former president was flown by helicopter from prison to a military hospital where he has received medical treatment in the past.

He still faces an array of charges, including complicity in the deaths of some 850 people killed in the 2011 uprising against him, and corruption.

Mubarak was convicted in June last year of complicity in the deaths of protesters and sentenced to life in prison, but a retrial was ordered in January after he appealed.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of death.

Mubarak has often appeared frail during court sessions, lying on a stretcher, flanked by his sons Gamal and Alaa, who are also on trial.

But on Sunday, he appeared to be sitting up and listening to proceedings from the courtroom cage where defendants are held.

He was dressed in white and wore sunglasses in the courtroom.

Other defendants in the case, including Mubarak's one-time interior minister Habib Adli, were also present.

The two court sessions come as Egypt wrestles with the fallout from the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi by the military following massive protests against his rule.

Lawyers defending Mubarak and his security chiefs argued Islamists were primarily responsible for violence during the uprising that toppled him, with one lawyer saying it mirrored violence in recent weeks by Morsi's supporters.

In recent days, violence appears to have abated, prompting authorities to announce on Saturday that they would shorten a night-time curfew by two hours.

The curfew was imposed in 14 provinces on August 14, as violence ripped through the country when security forces began the forcible dispersal of two pro-Morsi camps.

Nearly 600 people were killed in a single day across Egypt, the country's bloodiest day in decades.

Violence continued in the days that followed, claiming nearly 400 more lives as protesters clashed with security forces.