Court considers Mubarak parole request

[iolsa]

Cairo - A Cairo court was studying a request on Monday to grant parole to deposed president Hosni Mubarak, who has been under arrest since April 2011 charged with corruption and involvement in the deaths of protesters.

Mubarak's lawyer, Faris al-Dib, made the request on the grounds that his client has spent two years in prison, local press reported.

However a judicial source said that it was unlikely that the ex-president would be freed, even if the court finds in his favour, as he was recently remanded in custody over another corruption charge.

A court sentenced Mubarak, toppled in February 2011 by a popular uprising, and ex-interior minister Habib al-Adly, to life imprisonment for their part in the killing of protesters.

In January, Egypt's Court of Cassation ordered a retrial for Mubarak and Adly after accepting an appeal against their life sentences, citing procedural failings.

However the new trial was cut short on Saturday when the judge recused himself and asked the case to be passed to another court after a short but chaotic first sitting.

In October, the same judge had acquitted defendants in the infamous "Battle of the Camels" trial, who were accused of sending men on camels and horses to break up a protest during the 2011 uprising.

Mubarak appeared relaxed and comfortable at the retrial on Saturday, waving to supporters and chatting to his sons Alaa and Gamal, who are also on trial charged with corruption. - AFP



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