Egypt: Feared former interior minister el-Adly on trial

LONDON. March 5. KAZINFORM Egypt's feared former Interior Minister, Habib el-Adly, has denied charges of corruption at the opening of his trial in Cairo; Kazinform refers to BBC News.

"It didn't happen," he said to allegations of laundering money and unlawfully acquiring public money.

He was arrested in mid-February, days after President Hosni Mubarak resigned in the face of popular protest.

The hearing was adjourned to 2 April as the defence argued for more time to study court papers.

Mr Adly appeared in the dock dressed in white prison clothes, and delivered his answers in a calm voice, an AFP news agency correspondent reports.

There was heavy security around the criminal court in the suburb of Tagammu Khames, with tanks positioned at the entrance.

Dozens of people had gathered outside to demand the death penalty; Kazinform cites BBC News.

See www.bbc.co.uk for full version