Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has denied all charges made against him on the first day of his trial - as he appeared in court on a hospital bed.
The 83-year-old told the court in the capital Cairo he was not guilty of corruption and complicity in killing protesters during the country's uprising seven months ago.
A prosecutor read charges against Mubarak that he was an accomplice along with this then-interior minister in the "intentional and premeditated murder of peaceful protesters".
He also detailed accusations that Mubarak and his sons received gifts from a prominent businessman in return for guaranteeing him a lowered price in a land deal with the state.
"Yes, I am here," Mubarak said from his bed, raising his hand slightly when the judge asked him to identify himself and enter a plea.
"I deny all these accusations completely," he said into a microphone, wagging his finger.
He is standing trial alongside his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, who also pleaded not guilty, and other regime officials in proceedings being aired live on state TV.
It comes amid fears the man who was the country's strongman ruler for 30 years would use his health as a means of avoiding justice.
Images of the former dictator behind the bars of a cage inside the courtroom provoked a huge cheer from groups of protesters outside the building.
Thousands of riot police stationed around the trial venue earlier broke up scuffles between supporters and opponents of Mubarak - some of whom have called for his execution.
More than 50 people were injured in the clashes.
He faces charges of corruption and of killing 800 pro-democracy campaigners during the revolution in January that forced him from power.
"They should hang him," said Jalal Faisal Ali, whose 18-year-old brother Nasser was among those who died.
"He was responsible for all of the deaths, because it was to save him and his sons."
Mubarak had been flown to the special courtroom set up at a police academy that used to bear his name, from the hospital where he was being detained in Sharm el Sheikh.
The man who for decades locked up and tortured his opponents is - like any other accused Egyptian criminal - being held in an iron cage in the court during proceedings.
For those who demanded his downfall, his humbling and humiliation will make compulsive viewing.
"When I see this it will be like a dream," said Mahmoud Sameh, who joined the Tahrir Square protests.
"It feels like a big step towards us taking our rights," he added.
Until now, Mubarak - formerly America's closest ally in the Arab world - had not been seen publicly since he stepped down.
He has been under "detention" at a hospital in Sharm el Sheikh where his doctors have frequently issued dire warnings about his condition.
Last week, he was declared by his lawyer to be in a coma , then he was awake and refusing to eat.
Pro-democracy activists, who see the trial as a key test of the progress towards a "new Egypt", fear his health would be used as an excuse to evade justice.
They also fear the military generals who are running the country ahead of free elections would help save their former master to prevent him revealing their own role in his repressive rule.
Just hours before the trial was due to start, there was some scepticism from members of the public.
"I don't believe he's going to show up," one man said in a Cairo cafe.
"We want to see justice, but he will find a way to get out of it," he added.
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