Egyptian court orders Hosni Mubarak's release from prison
Former president to be freed as early as Thursday, triggering fears of further turmoil amid crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood
The former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak will leave jail as early as Thursday after a court ruling that is expected to add to the turmoil since the army toppled President Mohamed Morsi.
On Wednesday the court upheld a release petition from Mubarak's lawyer.
Judicial and security sources said the court had ordered his release. His lawyer, Fareed al-Deeb, confirmed this as he left Tora prison in Cairo after the hearing. Asked when Mubarak would go free, he told Reuters: "Maybe tomorrow."
The prosecutor overseeing the case against him said he would not appeal the ruling.
"The decision to release Mubarak issued today ... is final and the prosecution cannot appeal against it," said Judge Ahmed el-Bahrawi.
Mubarak, 85, was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killing of demonstrators during the uprising in 2011 which led to him being overthrown after 30 years in power. But a court accepted his appeal this year and ordered a retrial.
Many Egyptians will see his release as part of the rehabilitation of an old order that controlled the country for six decades with military backing- and even a reversal of the pro-democracy revolt that toppled him.
At least 900 people, including 100 soldiers and police officers, have been killed in a crackdown on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood in the past week, making it Egypt's bloodiest civil episode in decades.
The US and the EU are both reviewing aid to Cairo in light of the bloodshed, but Saudi Arabia has promised to make up any shortfall.
Mubarak is still being retried on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising, but he has already served the maximum pre-trial detention in that case.
The court ruling on Wednesday removed the last legal ground for his imprisonment in connection with a corruption case, following a similar decision in another case on Monday.
Mubarak's release might trigger more unrest in Egypt. The army claims it was responding to the will of the people when it ousted Morsi, the country's first freely elected leader, on 3 July. There were mass protests demanding his removal before what many see as a coup.
The generals have installed an interim administration to oversee a roadmap they say will lead Egypt to back to democracy.
The authorities now portray their quarrel with the Brotherhood, Egypt's best-organised political force, as a fight against terrorism and are jailing its leaders. The group's spiritual leader, Mohamed Badie, was detained in Cairo on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which along with Kuwait have promised Egypt $12n (£7.7bn) in aid since Morsi was overthrown, have been critical of Mubarak's imprisonment. Arab diplomats said the conservative Gulf monarchies had lobbied for the release of the former president they once valued as a strong regional ally.
Mubarak's trial and his imprisonment angered an number of officers in the armed forces, with one colonel, who asked not to be named, saying it had "tarnished the army's image".
The US, an ally of Egypt since Cairo signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, said on Tuesday that the crackdown on protesters could influence US aid. It denied reports it had already suspended assistance. At issue is the future of about $1.23bn in US military assistance and $241m in economic aid to Egypt.
European foreign ministers meet on Wednesday to discuss how the EU might use its economic power to promote an end to Egypt's conflict, in which it has sought to mediate.
They are likely to tread carefully, mixing expressions of concern over bloodshed with limited, if any, changes in a €5bn (£4.3bn) aid package promised last year to help foster the new democratic system, diplomats in Brussels said.
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