At 11:58 a.m. local time, Hosni Mubarak's fighting spirit sparked back to life. "I totally deny all those charges," he said in a firm voice, speaking into a microphone. For a moment, the 83-year-old former president of Egypt seemed revived by anger. He raised himself slightly from the hospital bed on which he had been wheeled into the courtroom and raised his forefinger -- it was a threatening gesture from a bygone era when Mubarak laid down the law in this country.

The trial of Mubarak is an historic event that should serve as a warning to the autocratic rulers in Egypt's neighboring countries. Mubarak is the first Arab leader to stand trial in person since popular uprisings swept the Middle East this year.

A new age has dawned in the Middle East. Those who abuse their office, engage in corruption or order the killing of opponents will in the future have to brace themselves for ending their career in the dock rather than in some luxurious exile. The old standard practice that dictators who had been toppled were taken in by allied rulers in other states, like former Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, or deposed and quickly executed no longer seems to apply.

Mubarak's cage in the corner of the courtroom was shared by his two sons, former interior minister Habib al-Adly and six former police commanders. They were surrounded by plainclothes guards, deliberately making it hard to catch a glimpse of him.

Millions of Egyptians watched live on TV how the frail former despot lay on his gurney and listened to charges that he was complicit in the murder of more than 800 demonstrators during the uprising. 

Mubarak Lay Under a Sheet Pulled Up to His Chin

To underline the public nature of the trial of the "pharaoh," a cinema-sized video screen had been placed in front of the police academy on the outskirts of Cairo where the trial is being held, to allow the crowds outside to follow the proceedings.

Satellite channel Al-Jazeera was on hand to transmit the event across the Middle East. No trial has received this much attention since the prosecution of Saddam Hussein -- and he was only put in the dock after an invasion by foreign troops.

Egyptians are likely to remember the events of this day for a long time to come. At 11 a.m., court officials wheeled a hospital bed through a side entrance into the defendants' cage. The man who had ruled Egypt with an iron fist for almost 30 years lay covered with a sheet pulled up to his chin.

Hundreds of people outside the court cheered at the sight. Mubarak was being treated like any other person on trial. He had been made to face the judges despite his heart problems and supposed cancer. The images of a weak, nervous Mubarak broke the spell he had held over his people for decades.

It was uncertain for a long time whether the military officers in the transitional government would subject their former commander to this public humiliation. The fact that they did shows the importance of this trial.

Before the charges were read out, there were shouts from the 600 people gathered in the courtroom, including some relatives of the victims. People kept standing up to catch a glimpse of the former leader.

A Ritual Cleansing

"Sit down!" judge Ahhmed Refaat called out, then threatening them with 24-hour jail sentences for contempt of court. The defense attorneys asked for the trial to be adjourned.

But Refaat had already made clear ahead of the trial that he would not allow it to drag on for months. One observer said it could last four weeks and that the sentence could be passed in two months.

Few expect Mubarak to be sentenced to death if he is found guilty. The trial isn't aimed at satisfying desires for revenge but at symbolizing a break with the past. It is a televised ritual cleansing with which the military leaders in the transitional government want to absolve themselves of all blame.