CAIRO, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Amid protests, a court decided Monday in Cairo to link the cases of former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly to former President Hosni Mubarak.
Mubarak appeared in court on a hospital gurney alongside his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, Adly and six other ministry officials. They are accused of having a role in the deaths of hundreds of unarmed demonstrators during the revolution that ended Mubarak's grip on power after three decades.
Mubarak also faces corruption charges, something already settled for Adly in a separate case earlier this year.
Apart from announcing "present" at the opening of the Monday session, none of the defendants spoke from the defendant's cage, Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm reports.
The court also decided Monday to link Mubarak's case to Adly's.
"Consolidating both cases into one means that the court is acknowledging the killing of the protesters as one incident," lawyer Ahmed Ragheb was quoted by the newspaper as saying. Consolidating the cases means both former leaders would receive identical charges once the court settles the case.
Demonstrators have called on the ruling military council to move quicker on promised reforms, complaining justice was moving too slowly for former regime officials.
At least 30 people were injured during clashes that marked the start of the second court session for Mubarak and his close aides. The trial was adjourned to Sept. 5.
