Egypt's Hosni Mubarak set to be freed from prison
Prosecutors clear ex-president in graft case, but his release may stoke tension in a divided nation
Egypt's disgraced former president Hosni Mubarak will be released from jail soon after prosecutors cleared him in a corruption case, his lawyer said yesterday, dropping a new bombshell on a nation in turmoil.
Mubarak's continued detention now rests on another corruption case which his lawyer, Fareed el-Deeb, said would be settled swiftly.
"All we have left is a simple administrative procedure that should take no more than 48 hours. He should be freed by the end of the week," Deeb said.
Without confirming that Mubarak would be freed, judicial officials said a court yesterday ordered his release in a corruption case that alleged he and his two sons embezzled funds for presidential palaces.
Mubarak was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison in June last year for his failure to stop the killing of some 900 protesters in the 18-day uprising against his rule. His sentence was overturned on appeal and he is now being retried,
But this would not necessarily require him to stay in jail. Mubarak did not appear at a hearing in the case on Saturday. He was also absent from the proceedings yesterday.