Egypt’s ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak is to face a new trial over his role in the deaths of protesters in 2011.

His fresh retrial was set to begin on Saturday in the capital Cairo, after the judge disqualified himself in a previous hearing.

Mostafa Hassan Abdallah announced his decision in a chaotic hearing at a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo on April 13.

Abdallah said he was referring the case to the Cairo appeals court, as he felt “unease” in reviewing the case.

Mubarak, his interior minister, Habib al-Adly, and six security chiefs were due to be tried on charges of killing around 900 protesters during mass protests, which toppled Mubarak in 2011.

Mubarak’s sons, Gamal and Alaa, were also expected to be retried on corruption charges.

Mubarak and his interior minister have already been sentenced to life over the deadly crackdown. However, in January, an Egyptian court accepted an appeal by Hosni Mubarak over his life sentence for his involvement in the 2011 killings. The court ordered a retrial.

Many revolutionaries in Egypt believe the former US-allied strongman should be sentenced to death over his leading role in killing demonstrators.