Egypt's interior minister named in trial

CAIRO, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Former Egyptian Interior Minister Habib al-Adly ordered the country's police equipped with armed weapons at the height of the revolution, a witness testified.

The eighth witness in the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak testified in a Cairo court that Adly gave orders to put weapons in the hands of the police, al-Arabiya reports.

The witness, a lieutenant, handed over footage contained on a CD showing shootings that took place Jan. 28. He said Mubarak and Adly were responsible for the deaths of protesters during the country's revolution.

The court this week ordered the arrest of a police captain on perjury charges after he changed his testimony regarding the weapons claims.

More than 800 demonstrators were killed during the revolution that toppled Mubarak's regime. Former intelligence officer and Vice President Omar Suleiman had given similar accounts of Adly's actions during interrogations earlier this year.

Mubarak denies the charges against him. In an earlier investigation, Adly said he was given false information by his deputies and therefore wasn't responsible for the deaths of protesters.

The case was adjourned until Sunday. Suleiman is to testify Tuesday in the Mubarak case.

Mubarak, 83, is in failing health and appeared in court on a hospital gurney. He was toppled after serving nearly 30 years in power.