A Egyptian court on Nov. 29 dropped charges against former president Hosni Mubarak [6], dismissing the case [7]. Judge Mahmoud Kamel al-Rashidi, who read the decisiom for the three-panel court, stated that charges should have never been brought. Critics alleged that the postponed [8] ruling is a political one, but Rashidi denies that the decision had anything to do with politics and encouraged critics to read the court's reasoning. Mubarak, his former security chief Habib al-Adly [9] and six former government aides were being retried on charges of corruption and complicity in the killing of more than 100 protesters during the country's 2011 uprising. The charges against Mubarak's government aides were also dropped. The court's decision may be appealed.
Mubarak and other members of his administration have been the subject of controversial judicial proceedings since the Egyptian Revolution [10]. In May an Egyptian criminal court in Cairo convicted [11] Mubarak of embezzling millions of dollars of public money and sentenced the former president to three years in prison. The court also sentenced Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal to four years in prison for their role in the embezzling scheme. Last December, an Egyptian court acquitted [12] former Egyptian prime minister and presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq [13] and Alaa and Gamal Mubarak of charges of embezzling public funds. In August of last year, Mubarak appeared in court for his retrial on complicity charges [14] in the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising. The same week Mubarak was released from prison [15] and placed under house arrest [16] at a military hospital after a court concluded that he served the maximum in time allowed in connection with the long-pending corruption case. In July 2013 lawyers for Mubarak entered [17] a not guilty plea in his retrial.
From Jurist [18], Nov. 29. Used with permission.