Trial Of Hosni Mubarak Begins And Grips Arab World

Reuters reports:

Some thought it would inspire those protesters trying to oust their own leaders, such as Syria's Bashar al-Assad, who has used his military to try to crush an uprising against his rule.

"The trial no doubt inspires Syrians and raises their hopes of the victory of their cause for freedom...to see those implicated in the bloodletting of Syrians and theft of the wealth of Syria put behind bars," said Imadeddin al-Rashid, an Islamic law professor who fled Syria.

The opening of the trial coincided with a push by Syrian forces into the heart of Hama.

In Yemen, protesters were glued to small television sets they had brought into the tents where they camped out in Sanaa.

Mubarak was not the first Arab leader to fall in the Arab Spring, but he is the first to stand trial in person. Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, who was toppled first, fled to Saudi Arabia and was tried in absentia.

There are contrasts with the trial of Iraq's Saddam Hussein, kicked out of office by a U.S.-led force and not his own people.

If convicted, Mubarak could face the death penalty, though few expect that outcome even if some protesters wish it.

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