Mubarak Released from Jail

Local Editor

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has been released from prison and flown by helicopter to a military hospital.

Television pictures showed him leaving Tora prison on the southern outskirts of Cairo and landing minutes later in the nearby suburb of Maadi.
It comes after a court ordered his release in relation to charges of receiving gifts from a state-owned newspaper.

He is expected to be placed under house arrest at the hospital on the orders of Egyptian prime minister Hazem el Beblawi - a decision made under a month-long state of emergency declared when police stormed protest camps in Cairo.
Mubarak could not be seen as his stretcher was taken from the helicopter and loaded into an ambulance, which was heavily guarded as it made the short journey to the military hospital.

Dozens of supporters, many of whom gathered outside the prison where he was detained, celebrated the release of their former leader.
However, many Egyptians expressed their disappointment at his release.
"He should stay in prison," said Hoda Saleh, whose brother is an inmate at Tora.
"The country is facing obstacles so people are turning back to Mubarak. They don't know what they are doing."

Mubarak, 85, is believed to be suffering from a heart condition, although the severity of his health problems is disputed by critics who claim he is trying to gain public sympathy and court leniency.
He was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to his downfall.
However, a court accepted his appeal earlier this year and ordered a retrial, which is expected to resume next week.

On another level, the European Union foreign ministers agreed to stop export licenses on military equipment to Egypt and to reassess security co-operation in response to the clampdown.
Arms are provided by individual countries rather than the EU as a whole, mostly by Germany, France and Spain. The UK has already suspended some of its military help.
But the 28-member bloc's humanitarian aid to Egypt remains unaffected, despite calls from some EU politicians to cut the assistance after more than 900 people were killed in clashes last week.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team