The prosecution in the case against Hosni Mubarak on Thursday demanded the death sentence for the former Egyptian president and other defendants including his two sons and the former interior minister.
Mubarak is facing charges of ordering the killing of protesters during the demonstrations which swept him from power last February. The judge adjourned the trial until Jan. 9.
"The prosecution demands the maximum penalty against Mubarak and the rest of the accused which is death by hanging," Mustafa Khater, a member of the prosecution team said during a court session.
The ex-president, 83, his two sons, the former interior minister Habib el-Adly and six senior police officers face charges ranging from corruption to involvement in the deaths of around 850 protesters during the uprising that ended Mubarak's three decades in power.
Mubarak appeared in a courtroom cage reserved for the accused.
On Wednesday, Chief Prosecutor Mustafa Suleiman said Mubarak and the other defendants were not directly linked to the deaths but were charged with being "participants" implicated in the decision to use force.
"The defendants you see in the cage gave the orders to use force and violence to prevent protesters from reaching Tahrir Square," Suleiman said, adding that the decision to use force was taken on Jan. 27, the day before the most violent clashes of the uprising.
Mubarak and the other defendants deny any responsibility for the deaths.
Suleiman said the prosecutor had gathered evidence from doctors, protesters and police officers.
"We listened to over 2,000 witness accounts ... The defendants did not have a direct role in the crime scene but are referred to trial for being ... participants in it, and inciting the killers, whose individual identities are unknown, to shoot protesters," he said.
"The state agencies, including the National Security Authority and Egyptian intelligence, have deliberately not cooperated with the prosecutors in the investigation."
Mohamed El Gendi, former interior minister Adly's lawyer, took copious notes as the prosecutors made their case.
"We will respond to these allegations with evidence and documents. The evidence presented today is not new and does not prove the crime," he said.
Mubarak is the only one of the leaders toppled in the wave of protests that have swept the Arab world to stand trial in person. In a country in political and economic disarray, many Egyptians say national renewal will be impossible unless those killed receive justice.