Cairo: The two sons of Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak are set to walk free after a court on Monday ordered their release from prison, saying they have served their three-year jail term in a corruption case.
The decision was made after the court accepted a challenge filed by Alaa and Jamal Mubarak that they had been in prison for 43 months, exceeding the three-year jail sentence handed to each of them after they were convicted of embezzling 125 million Egyptian pounds (around Dh 62.5 million) in public money originally allocated for renovating presidential palaces.
Their father was convicted in the same case, but was released after serving a three-year sentence.
“The contestation submitted by the two defendants complies with the requirements of the law. So, their release is a legal matter,” chief judge of the Cairo Criminal Court Salah Mahjoub said in an explanation of the release order. Alaa and Jamal showed up for the ruling session.
Their lawyer Farid Al Deeb expected their release soon.
“The court’s acceptance of their challenge means that procedures for their release will start immediately,” Al Deeb said following the verdict. “Their release is a matter of time and will be coordinated between the General Prosecution and the Prison Department.”
Alaa and Jamal were released from prison in January after a preliminary verdict in the case was revoked on appeal. They were imprisoned again after they were convicted and sentenced to three years in prison on retrial in May.
They are being tried in a separate corruption case related to insider trading. This trial is due to resume on Saturday.
Their father, 87, is staying at a military hospital in southern Cairo where he is being treated for ageing-related diseases.
Egypt’s top appeals court is due next month to rule in a final trial of Mubarak on charges of involvement in the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his 30-year reign.
