Egyptian Court Orders Mubarak's Release
August 21, 2013
by VOA News
Judicial and security forces say an Egyptian court Wednesday ordered former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak be released from prison, where he has been held for more than two years after a popular uprising drove him from power.
Mubarak's lawyer, Fareed el-Deeb, tells Reuters the former ruler could be freed as early as Thursday.
Mubarak, 85, is being retried on charges he failed to stop the killing of protesters during the popular revolt that swept him from office. But the court ruled there are no longer any legal grounds for his continued detention.
Egypt's prosecutor will not appeal the ruling, the prosecutor overseeing the case said on Wednesday. "The decision to release Mubarak issued today ... is final and the prosecution cannot appeal against it,'' Judge Ahmed el-Bahrawi said.
Earlier this week, an Egyptian court cleared Mubarak of charges that he and his sons stole public money for presidential palaces.
Also Wednesday, Egyptian authorities arrested a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman and a fiery preacher with ties to the group, as Egypt's interim government continues to pressure the party of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.
Mourad Ali, a spokesman for the Brotherhood's political arm was taken into custody Wednesday at the Cairo airport, while cleric Safwat Hegazy was arrested near the Libyan border. Officials said both were trying to flee the country.
The arrests come a day after authorities detained Brotherhood spiritual leader Mohamed Badie. A court ordered him held for 15 days while prosecutors investigate allegations that he incited the torture and killing of protesters in June.
But Mubarak's release is likely to inject further turmoil in a nation on edge.
In another blow to the Muslim Brotherhood, whose leaders are being rounded up, Egypt's interim authorities are working on a new draft constitution, one that would explicitly ban religion-based political parties.
The move would likely be welcomed by many in Egypt, who felt Morsi failed to keep his pledge to move beyond a Brotherhood agenda and build an inclusive government.
“They need to play according to the rules of politics, not as the representatives of God on Earth,” said political analyst Hisham Kassem.
But after the violence of the past week, political reconciliation seems still far away. Along with the arrests, hundreds of people have been killed - most of them anti-government protesters, but also dozens of security personnel.
Christians are also under attack, with dozens of their churches burned. Even moderate politician, Nobel-prize winning Mohamed ElBaradei, who resigned the interim vice-presidency over the bloodshed, is facing a court appearance for “breaching national trust.”
UN reconciliation effort
Also Wednesday, the United Nations political affairs chief is in Cairo for talks aimed at ending Egypt's political crisis. Under-Secretary-General Jeffrey Feltman is on a three-day mission described by a spokesman as a "push to restore peace and forge reconciliation."
Interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi says there may continue to be problems in the coming weeks and months in Egypt, but that he does not see the situation becoming a civil war.
In an interview with ABC News broadcast late Tuesday, he said the political transition "will take some time" and that the country is moving in the right direction toward normalcy.
He also defended the conduct of security forces who carried out deadly raids last week at two protest camps in Cairo. Beblawi said the government had warned the protesters to disband, and officers used only tear gas until they were fired upon by the protesters.
Authorities say the official death toll since Morsi's July 3 ouster has topped 1,000, but the Brotherhood insists the toll is much higher.
EU foreign ministers issued a statement Wednesday, strongly condemning the violence and accusing Egyptian security forces of a "disproportionate" use of force.
They agreed to suspend EU exports to Egypt of equipment that could be used for "internal repression" and decided to review EU aid programs for the Arab state.
Elizabeth Arrott in Cairo also contributed to this report
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