Egypt's former interior minister Habib al-Adly has pleaded not guilty to corruption charges, in the first trial of a member of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's regime.
Mr Adly denied accusations of money laundering and unlawful acquisition of public money, saying 'it didn't happen'.
Judge Al-Mohammadi Qunsua adjourned the hearing to 2 April, after a heated exchange between the defence team and civil society lawyers attending the trial.
Defence lawyer Mohammed Yussef Manaa had asked for more time to study the documents of the case and refused to comment after the trial.
Judge Qunsua said Mr Adly had used his position as a public servant to sell land to a contractor doing work for the interior ministry, in a deal worth 4.8m Egyptian pounds (€581,000).
He also accused Mr Adly of being implicated in money laundering to the tune of 4.5m Egyptian pounds (around €545,000).
Ibrahim Bassiuni, a civil society lawyer volunteering for the prosecution, called on the judge to allow television cameras into the courtroom because he said 'it is the public's right to see this murderer standing in the dock'.
He also said money recovered from Mr Adly's alleged illegal deals 'should be handed to the martyrs of the revolution'.
Cairo's criminal court in the Tagammu Khames suburb was surrounded by heavy security and army tanks were positioned at the entrance ahead of the high profile trial.
Dozens of people had gathered outside the court complex to demand the death penalty for Mr Adly.
'The people want the execution of the murderer,' a group chanted, as others held banners depicting Mr Adly with a noose around his neck.
He was arrested last month as part of a corruption investigation by the new authorities, along with several former ministers and senior members of Mr Mubarak's National Democratic Party.
Mr Mubarak, 82, resigned on 11 February, handing power to a military council that pledged to pave the way for a free democratic system and bring to justice those found guilty of abuses.
