A top Egyptian security official testified on Wednesday in a Cairo courtroom under a media blackout at the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Interior Minister General Mansour el-Issawi is the latest of high-ranking Egyptians to be called in an unprecedented summoning of military and intelligence officials in a court proceeding.

While outsiders and journalists are not allowed in the court, reports say El-Issawi was expected to testify as to whether internal police investigations were carried out regarding force used on protesters demanding Mr. Mubarak’s removal in February.

El-Issawi took the interior minister post after Mr. Mubarak was forced from office on February 11.

On Tuesday, Omar Suleiman, a longtime intelligence chief who served briefly as vice-president, faced questions over whether Mr. Mubarak orchestrated the deadly backlash against protesters.

The former Egyptian president has pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption and complicity in the killing of protesters during the 18-day-uprising that led to his resignation. He is also accused of abuse of power.

Mr. Mubarak usually enters the Cairo courtroom on a stretcher and listens to court proceedings while lying on a bed inside the court’s large metal cage. He is being tried along with former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and six deputies.

Egypt’s current military ruler, who was Mubarak’s defense minister, had been due to testify on Sunday but failed to appear. Aides said Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi was busy with matters of national security due to violence outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo over the weekend.

Reports and judicial sources say his testimony is now scheduled for September 24, after he sent a message to the court saying he could not attend. Lieutenant General Sami Enan’s testimony was postponed from Monday to September 25.