[JURIST] Lawyers for Egypt’s ex-president Hosni Mubarak [Al Jazeera profile; JURIST news archive] on Saturday entered a not guilty plea when his retrial for alleged complicity in the 2011 killings of protestors resumed. Mubarak, who also faces corruption charges alongside his two sons, received a life sentence [JURIST report] at the original trial last year. However, in January an appeals court ordered a retrial [JURIST report] citing procedural errors. During the televised hearing on Saturday, Cairo’s criminal court heard submissions from the defense before adjourning proceedings until August 17.

Mubarak and members of his government have been the subject of controversial judicial proceedings since the start of the Egyptian Revolution [JURIST backgrounder]. Last month Mubarak’s retrial began [JURIST report], and the presiding judge barred lawyers [JURIST report] representing the victims’ families from participating in the hearings. In April the Cairo Criminal Court rejected a second appeal [JURIST report] by Mubarak and ordered him to remain in prison while an investigation into corruption charges continued. Also in April Mubarak was ordered by the prosecutor’s office to return to prison [JURIST report] from the military hospital where he was staying after he appeared healthy at a hearing.