Egyptian court postpones Mubarak verdict again

An Egyptian court has postponed the verdict in the retrial of deposed president Hosni Mubarak on charges of corruption and killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising that toppled him.

The court on Saturday said the ruling for the 86-year-old Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for three decades, was postponed until Nov. 29 due to the large amount of evidence. On a TV screen set up next to the defendants' cage where Mubarak sat in a wheelchair wearing sunglasses, the court showed a video of what it said were the case's 160,000 documents.

The verdicts for seven of his former police commanders, as well as for his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, accused of corruption, were also delayed. 

In August, Mubarak told the court that he never ordered the killing of protesters.

In June 2012, Mubarak and former interior minister Habib el-Adly were sentenced to life in prison for failing to prevent the deaths of more than 800 protesters during the 18-day uprising that began on Jan. 25, 2011.

But an appeals court overturned his initial life sentence on a technicality, and ordered a retrial. The case has since been adjourned a number of times.

Mubarak was the first Arab ruler to be brought to court by his own people. Unlike in that first trial, however, reaction to the fate of Egypt's former leader in this case have so far been muted.

For many, the 2011 protester killings were overtaken by a stunning political reversal last summer when Mubarak's successor, Mohamed Morsi, was overthrown by the army.

"Mubarak is a history now," said Mohammed Zarie, a Cairo-based human rights lawyer. "For many people, Mubarak is not of interest," he added. Well-known Egyptian blogger The Big Pharaoh wrote of the trial: "Interest in this matter will barely go beyond Twitter."

Morsi, who was the country's first elected president, hails from the Muslim Brotherhood — once Egypt's most organized opposition group and Mubarak's arch enemy. The military moved against Morsi after millions staged demonstrations demanding his resignation after just a year in office.

Following Morsi's ouster, which was led by former army chief and now President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, many of those who drove the anti-Mubarak uprising landed in prison or were been largely silenced by the current government's crackdown on dissent.

Morsi and the Brotherhood's top leaders now face a series of proceedings against them, with charges that include treason and are punishable by the death sentence.

Al Jazeera and wire services