The Wire

The first day of the controversial trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is now under way. Mubarak faces charges of corruption and the murder of up to 850 people in the recent revolution that sparked the Arab Spring. The trial is unprecedented – it will be the first time a former Arab leader has been prosecuted by his own people. Doctor Hussein Esmaeili is a Senior Law Lecturer at Flinders University and he explained to The Wire’s Carly Nason why this case is important to the people of Egypt and to the wider Arab world.