Hosni Mubarak released over protesters killings but remains in custody for corruption charges

Egypt’s ex-President Hosni Mubarak should no longer be held over the killings of protesters during the revolution that toppled him, a Cairo court has ruled today.

However, Hosni Mubarak will remain in custody as he faces separate corruption charges.

Hosni Mubarak, 84, is awaiting a retrial for conspiring to kill protesters in early 2011.

The former leader’s lawyer successfully argued that he had spent the maximum time in prison under temporary detention.

In June 2012, Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for killings committed during the 2011 uprising that ended his decades-long rule, but in January a retrial was ordered because of procedural failings.

There were chaotic scenes on Saturday as the judge presiding over the retrial, Mustafa Hassan Abdullah, withdrew from the case citing his “unease” in overseeing the proceedings.

The case has been referred to a different court, which is expected to appoint a new panel to hear the retrial.

About 850 people were killed in the 2011 crackdown during the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s rule.

Hosni Mubarak and former interior minister Habib al-Adly were sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to kill protesters.

But both will be re-tried after they successfully appealed against their convictions, with Egypt’s Court of Cassation citing procedural failings.

Habib al-Adly will also be re-tried for corruption charges.

Hosni Mubarak and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, will also be re-tried for corruption charges, of which they were found not guilty the first time round.

Egypt’s former president has been in poor health since his arrest and appeared on a stretcher during his first trial and at Saturday’s hearing.

Deaths during the uprising were largely blamed on the police at the time, but last week a report was leaked which implicated the army in serious human rights abuses, including the killing and torture of protesters.

The leaked chapter, reportedly presented to President Mohamed Morsi late last year, contains testimony relating to civilians detained at military checkpoints who were never seen again and reports that the army delivered unidentified bodies to coroners.

Egypt’s Defence Minister Abdel Fatah al-Sissi denied the accusations, calling them a betrayal.