Egypt's chief prosecutor orders Mubarak to appear in court

Egyptian Prosecutor-General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud has ordered former president Hosny Mubarak to appear at the first session of his trial on Wednesday, the semi-official newspaper Al Ahram reported on Monday.

The paper quoted Mohamed Hegazy, the spokesman for the Egyptian government, as saying that Interior Minister Mansour al-Essawi has made arrangements to comply with the prosecutor-general's order, dpa reported.

The trial of Mubarak, who was forced out in February after a popular revolt, is to be held at the Police Academy on the outskirts of Cairo.

Mubarak, his two sons, former interior minister Habib al-Adli and six senior policemen are to face charges of ordering the killing of anti-government protesters earlier this year.

Their trial will be broadcast live on state television, said Ahmed Refaat, the presiding judge of the court that is to hear the case.

At least 846 people were killed and more than 6,000 injured in the crackdown during the anti-Mubarak uprising, according to a fact-finding commission.

The 83-year-old Mubarak has not been seen in public since February 10. He has been receiving treatment at a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh since April 13, when he reportedly suffered a heart attack.

Mubarak's sons, Alaa and Gamal, are being held at a prison in Cairo