Egyptian officials have announced that deposed president Hosni Mubarak's trial will not be held at a Cairo convention centre, due to unspecified security reasons. The trial, set to commence on Wednesday 3rd August, will now be held at a police academy further from the city centre.
Mubarak has been under arrest at a hospital in the coastal resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh since April. There has been speculation about his failing health, including fears about cancer. It has most recently been reported that Mubarak is refusing to eat solids and is looking very gaunt. These reports have not been verified by an independent source.
The former president is charged with corruption and ordering the killing of protesters before he was toppled in February.
President of Appeals Court Abdel Aziz Omar said Mubarak's trial was being moved "because it is difficult to guarantee the protection of the other place".
Speaking to MENA news agency, Assistant Justice Minister Mohammed Munie said the police academy auditorium where the trial will now take place can hold 600 people. He added that an enclosure for the defendants has already been installed.
Sources: BBC News, Bloomberg, The Guardian
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