Mubarak-era minister acquitted of corruption charges

A court in Egypt has acquitted a former interior minister under ousted dictator, Hosni Mubarak, of corruption and fraud charges.

Habib al-Adly had been accused of money laundering and profiteering among other charges.

However, Adly, who ran security services for more than a decade in Mubarak’s government, will remain in custody.

He was previously sentenced to life in prison for the killing of anti-government protesters during the 2011 uprising, but the verdict was overturned on technical grounds.

On May 21, a court in Cairo also sentenced Mubarak and his two sons respectively to three and four years in prison over corruption charges.

Mubarak and his sons were convicted of embezzling USD 14 million of state funds in over a decade.

The funds were meant for renovating and maintaining presidential palaces, but were instead spent on upgrading the Mubarak family’s private residences.

Many believe that the victory of former army General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Egypt’s recent presidential election would place Egypt’s presidency back in the hands of a top military official just three years after Egyptians rose up against Mubarak, an air force officer who ruled Egypt for nearly three decades.