“A trial under the public eye would itself serve a great, shall we say, cathartic function," said Professor Ibrahim. "It will absorb a great deal of the tension that we have seen recently.”

But Professor Ibrahim is concerned that Egypt’s current military leaders may be reluctant to see their former boss in a defendant’s cage and, potentially, sentenced to death.

“Having appointed them, having them think of him as one of their senior colleagues," he said. "He was their commander in chief. I don’t they’d like to see him humiliated because that reflects on the whole military.”

It’s a delicate balance for the top military officers - satisfying people’s demands for justice while also safeguarding their own positions.

And editor Rania al-Malky of Daily News Egypt says there’s another issue. She believes the Egyptian leaders are also under pressure from autocratic regimes elsewhere in the region, several of which have also faced large-scale protests.

“He would be the first Arab dictator ever to face this situation, I think, in the history of this region," said al-Malky. "So this is setting a very dangerous precedent maybe for other leaders who are afraid for themselves.”

But veteran journalist Hisham Kassem says there is more at stake than Mr. Mubarak's fate, or that of other leaders in the region.

“My real concern is that due process is observed because as we enter a new republic we have to uphold rule of law," said Kassem. "And Mubarak must get fair trial.