The former autocrat's courtroom appearance gripped millions of Egyptians awestruck by the reversal of fortune of a man who ruled the Arab world's most populous nation for three decades with an iron fist.
Many Egyptians doubted that the country's interim military rulers would put their former boss, a former Air Force chief, on trial. But after months of intensifying protests, Egypt's military council made good on its promise to put the country's longtime leader on trial.
Mubarak had not been seen in public since he delivered a defiant speech on Feb. 10, vowing he would not resign. A day later, he hastily traveled to the resort town of Sharm el Sheikh after the country's military chiefs forced him to step down.
The former leader has been hospitalized in in Sharm el-Sheikh for months. Mubarak's lawyer has said the 83-year-old is too ill to be put on trial, but Egypt's health minister certified in recent days that Mubarak is fit enough for the proceedings.
Hours before Wednesday's hearing began in a courtroom at the Cairo police academy at approximately 10 a.m., a small group of Mubarak supporters clashed with other demonstrators outside the building. The dueling sides threw rocks for a few minutes, until security forces intervened to stop the fight.
The trial, where an ailing Mubarak, 83, could face execution if found guilty, turned into a stormy affair with violent clashes reported outside the police academy where the proceedings are being held.
About 50 pro-Mubarak supporters, holding his giant photograph afloat, declared "we will burn the prison, if they convict Mubarak", while his opponents, out in larger numbers, shouted back "death for dictator." The police backed by armoured cars kept the clashing public far away from the courtroom.
Mubarak was flown in from Red Sea resort town of Sharam el-Sheikh by a helicopter and brought to the courtroom on a stretcher with an intravenous drip, state television reported.
The television showed him lying on a hospital bed inside a mesh cage in the Cairo courtroom.
He, thus, became the first Arab ruler in modern times to be put in the dock. His trial has rattled Arab rulers --Monarchs and Presidents -- who have long held sway over most of the Muslim nations in the region.
The prosecuting judge Rifat, who declared the trial open, has ordered the proceedings to be beamed live.
Along with Mubarak in the dock are his two sons Alaa and Gamal and his infamous interior minister Habib-al-Adil, the state television reported.
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