An Egyptian court has postponed the verdict in the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak on charges of being complicit in the killing of protesters in Feb. 2011 to Nov. 29.

Judge Mahmoud al-Rasheedi said that the decision would allow the court more time to examine the case, consisting of 160,000 documents that must be considered.

Mubarak, his interior minister during the uprising, Habib al-Adly, and six former senior security officials were charged with ordering the killing of hundreds of demonstrators during the protests.

The court also put off on Saturday a ruling in a separate case of alleged corruption involving Mubarak, his two sons, Alaa, Gamal and a fugitive Egyptian business tycoon.

‘`The court is aware that this is a nation’s case, meanwhile we still continue our deliberations,’’ the chief judge said in televised remarks at the opening of the session.

Mubarak, 86, appeared lying on a stretcher inside a defendant’s cell in the courtroom.

The session was held amid tight security at a makeshift courtroom in the Police Academy on the outskirts of Cairo.

Following the postponement, backers of Mubarak and relatives of slain protesters who had gathered outside the court building engaged in scuffles.

Police stepped in and ended the fight; however, no casualties were reported.

In August, Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for nearly three decades, defended his legacy in a courtroom address, his first public statement since he was forced to step down in February 2011.

Mubarak was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2012 for failing to prevent the protester killings, becoming the first-ever Egyptian ruler to be tried and sent to prison.

In early 2013, the ruling was overturned on appeal and a retrial was ordered.

Mubarak is already serving a three-year sentence on embezzlement of public money.

Report says he is staying in an army hospital in southern Cairo due to frail health. 

NAN