JURIST - Paper Chase: Egypt ex-president Mubarak defends himself in memo to court

[JURIST] Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak [Al Jazeera profile; JURIST news archive] has told the court that he is saddened by "charges of unfair and baseless fabrications" and expressed his confidence in the Egyptian judicial system. Mubarak's remarks were published in form of a memo [text, in Arabic] by Tahrir newspaper on Thursday. Mubarak's remarks to the court became public a day after the defense counsel gave their closing remarks in the trial on charges of conspiracy to kill at least 840 protesters [JURIST report] during demonstrations in Egypt [JURIST news archive]. In his memo, Mubarak emphasized his lifetime dedication and service to the country after the assassination [JURIST report] of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat [official website; JURIST news archive]. He continued to stress that he was the one who made sure that the country's national security, sovereignty and independence were established. After elaborating on such accomplishments, Mubarak accused the protesters of having provoked and attacked security officials. He closed his memo by expressing his confidence in the judicial system: "I have spent my life defending them. Hosni Mubarak is not someone to smear his military honor with ill-gotten wealth. Despite everything, I am totally confident in the fairness and justice of the Egyptian judiciary. I am totally confident in history's judgment, and totally confident in the great Egyptian people's judgment—free from the allegations of the tendentious and those seeking to sow sedition, and those receiving foreign funding." Lawyers confirmed that Mubarak handed a letter to the court during the trial, but the content of the letter is unknown.

The verdict for Mubarak's case was set for June 2 [JURIST report] on Wednesday. A day before the prosecution sought death penalty for Mubarak in its closing remarks consistent with their initial announcement [JURIST reports] in January. The parties began to present their cases in January after the court resumed the trial [JURIST reports] in December. The trial was adjourned twice, in October and August [JURIST reports].