The lawyer defending Hosni Mubarak told the court on Saturday that there is not a shred of evidence linking the ousted Egyptian strongman to a controversial gas deal with Israel.
Farid al-Deeb said Egypt’s spy agency negotiated the 2005 deal in line with international norms.
"There isn’t an ounce of evidence that Mubarak was involved in the deal to import gas to Israel," costing the state $714 million (553 million euros) in losses, Deeb told the court.
"Statements by the former head of the intelligence services, Oman Suleiman, acertain that he was not involved in the pricing process or anything else concerning this deal.
"The negotiations concerning the export of Egyptian gas to Israel were carried out in accordance with international norms," Deeb added.
Deeb argued that former oil minister Sameh Fahmi, who is behind bars for his alleged involvement in selling Israel gas below market value in a bid to make illicit gains, got the greenlight for the deal from the former government.