Mubarak's retrial adjourned till June 8

A court in Egypt decided Saturday to adjourn the retrial of former president Hosni Mubarak to June 8, state media reported.

The retrial of Mubarak, his two sons Alaa and Gamal, former interior minister Habib al-Adli, six former top police officials and fugitive business tycoon Hussein Salem will be on charges of being responsible for killing protesters as well as corruption and profiteering.

The Cairo Criminal Court, presided by Judge Mahmoud Kamel al-Rashidi, adjourned the retrial to June 8 to completely review the cases, examine sealed evidence and give a chance for the defence staff to go through documents submitted by the prosecution, Xinhua said.

The court also decided to keep Mubarak along with his sons and the ex-interior minister in custody but temporarily release the six former security officials.

In court, when the judge asked Mubarak if he would like some volunteer Kuwaiti lawyers to defend him, the former president said he would like to refer the issue to his lawyer Farid al- Deeb.

In June 2012, Mubarak and Adli were sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering the killing of protesters during the 2011 upheaval. They appealed the verdict and the court had set May 11 for their retrial.

Mubarak ruled Egypt for three decades and was toppled following nationwide protests in January 2011.