Former Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, ousted from power in 2011, was ordered released from prison Wednesday and might be set free by the end of the week, his lawyer Fareed al-Deeb has confirmed.
Convening on Wednesday at the Cairo jail where Mubarak is held, the court upheld a petition from his lawyer demanding the release of the man who ruled Egypt for 30 years until he was overthrown during the uprisings that swept the Arab world in early 2011.
Judicial and security sources also confirmed that the court had ordered Mubarak’s release.
The only legal grounds for Mubarak’s continued detention rest on another corruption case which will be cleared up later this week, his lawyer said.
“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 added.
Hundreds of police officers and dozens of armoured police vehicles were stationed to ensure security throughout proceedings held at a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo.
Mubarak, his interior minister,Habib el-Adly, and six aides are accused in complicity with the deaths of more than 800 people during the 2011 uprising.
The ex-president and his sons are also facing charges for illegally using funds allocated for expenditure on presidential palaces for their private villas and corruption.
Mubarak 85, was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killing of demonstrators. But a court accepted his appeal earlier this year and ordered a retrial.
However, his release might stir more turbulence in Egypt where the army ousted Morsi, the country’s first freely elected leader, on July 3, saying it was responding to the will of the people following vast protests demanding his removal.
At least 900 people, including 100 soldiers and policemen, have been killed in a crackdown onMorsi’s Muslim Brotherhood in the past week, making it Egypt’s bloodiest civil episode in decades.
The military has installed an interim administration to oversee a roadmap they say will lead Egypt to back to democracy.
However, in spite of repeated warnings and killings of its members, the Muslim Brotherhood continues to demand the release and reinstatement of the ousted ruler.