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Mubarak-era minister acquitted of charges, can walk free

This April 19, 2016 photo shows former Egyptian interior minister Habib al-Adly attending his trial on the charges of corruption, in Cairo, Egypt. (Photo by AP)

A former Egyptian minister under long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak has been cleared of all his charges.

Egypt’s Court of Cassation on Thursday overturned a seven-year prison sentence given to Mubarak-era interior minister Habib al-Adly over corruption.

Adly’s lawyer, Farid el-Deeb, said the former minister would face no further legal procedures and can be freed from prison as verdicts by the Court of Cassation cannot be appealed.

Adly was sentenced to seven years in prison in April by a criminal court. He was convicted on charges of abusing public funds. The court fined Adly and two other ministry officials a total of 1.95 billion Egyptian pounds ($109.83 million) and ordered them to refund the same amount as well.

Judicial sources said the Court of Cassation, Egypt’s top court, quashed the conviction and imprisonment sentence over procedural errors. It ordered a retrial at a different criminal court, said the sources.

Adly was a key figure under Mubarak before the dictator was ousted from power in a popular uprising in 2011. The minister was the head of the much-feared internal security apparatus. He had been acquitted of other graft charges two years ago while a court in 2014 threw out charges against him and six Mubarak aides over killings of protesters during the demonstrations that led to Mubarak’s ouster.

Egypt’s current administration of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been quite tolerant of elements from Mubarak’s regime. Sisi was himself a senior military figure under Mubarak and led Egypt’s army during a popular coup that ousted democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.


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