Former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak pleaded "not guilty" to charges of corruption and complicity in a Cairo court Wednesday.
Flanked by his two sons, who wore white prison uniforms, Mubarak lay on a hospital bed during the duration of the proceedings. Mubarak and nine other defendants were confined in a metal cage inside the courtroom, which is standard practice in Egypt.
"This is the dream of Egyptians, to see him like this, humiliated like he humiliated them for the last 30 years," Ghada Ali, the mother of a 17-year-old girl who was killed during the protests, told Associated Press.
Murabak -- along with his son Alaa and Gamal, his former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli, and six senior ex-officers -- is on trial for killing protesters during the 18-day demonstrations against his regime in January and February. If convicted, Mubarak could face the death penalty.
The trial was televised around the world, and hundreds of Egyptians gathered outside the police academy courthouse to watch the broadcast on a large screen. It was the first time Mubarak has been seen publicly since his February 10 television address, when he defiantly told Egypt that he would never relinquish power.
Alaa (L) and Gamal Mubarak have $340 million stashed away in Swiss banks, according to an Egyptian official.ReutersFormer Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is seen in the courtroom for his trial at the Police Academy in Cairo in this still image taken from video August 3, 2011. Egypt's ousted President Hosni Mubarak, on trial for conspiring to kill protesters, was wheeled into a courtroom cage in a hospital bed on Wednesday -- an image that sends a chilling message to other Arab autocrats facing popular uprisings.ReutersFormer Egyptian interior minister Habib al-Adli sits in the courtroom during his trial at the Police Academy in Cairo August 3, 2011. ReutersDefendants including Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak (in bed, 2nd L), his two sons Gamal (standing, arms crossed) and Alaa Mubarak, and former interior minister Habib al-Adli (seated front row, in black) attend their trial at the Police Academy in Cairo August 3, 2011. ReutersA view of the courtroom during the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the Police Academy in Cairo in this still image taken from video August 3, 2011.ReutersAlaa Mubarak, one of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's two sons, covers a camera as he leaves the courtroom during the trial of his father, his brother and himself, at the Police Academy in Cairo August 3, 2011.ReutersJudge Ahmed Refaat speaks in the courtroom during the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the Police Academy in Cairo in this still image taken from video August 3, 2011Reuters
