For the first time in modern history, an Arab despot is being held to account by his own people. From a hospital bed in a courtroom cage, Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian dictator ousted in February’s popular uprising, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to kill protesters and abusing his powers for personal gain. On trial with him are his sons, Alaa and Gamal, Habib al-Adly, the ex-interior minister, and six former security officials. In a region where an untouchable elite had until six months ago been protected by a cloak of impunity, this is a remarkable turnaround.
阿拉伯獨裁統治者出現在被告席上，接受本國人民的審判，這在現代歷史上還是首次。在2月份民變中下臺的埃及前獨裁者胡斯尼?穆巴拉克(Hosni Mubarak)躺在法庭鐵籠里的病床上，否認了關于他陰謀殺害示威者和濫用權力牟取私利的指控。同他一起受審的還有他的兒子阿拉(Alaa)和賈邁勒(Gamal)、前內政部長哈比卜?阿茲利(Habib al-Adly)、以及6名前安全官員。就在半年前，埃及這些觸碰不得的精英們還手握“免罪金牌”，就這點而言，這可謂一個非同尋常的轉變。