CAIRO: Former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak was ordered to be set free on Wednesday by a Cairo court. The former president's lawyer Fareed el-Deeb said his client could be out of prison by as early as Thursday. The move comes as the country faces mounting turmoil and street violence, which has left some 1,000 people dead in the past week of fighting. It also comes as the military and the interim government continue to crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies, arresting top leaders of the group. Top prison official Mostafa Baz told the private CBC TV station that his offices would ask the prosecutors Thursday if Mubarak is wanted in other cases. If not, he would be set free. The hearing was held in Tora prison, where Mubarak, 85, has been held for most of his detention since April 2011. Officials cited security concerns as the reason for holding it in the sprawling, tightly secured facility. Mubarak, in detention since April 2011, was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to stop the killing of some 900 protesters in Egypt's 2011 uprising. His sentence was overturned on appeal and he is now being retried, along with his security chief and six top police commanders. He is facing a number of other corruption charges. Judicial officials have ordered Mubarak's release pending trials. His lawyers have argued that he should be let go after Wednesday's hearing into charges of having received gifts from the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper — the last case that has kept him in detention. Activists tell Bikyanews.com that they believe that a new trial will be had and the former president will not remain free for long. "I don't think the country would allow him to go free after all he has done to this country," said one activist. BN
