简体中文
An Egyptian court ordered the acquittal of former President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, who was charged with corruption, official news agency MENA reported Thursday.
Shafiq was being tried in absentia after he fled Egypt to the United Arab Emirates shortly after he was defeated in last year's presidential elections.
Shafiq was accused with other ten members of the Pilots Association for Land Development of profiteering, fraud, and money laundry with a combined value worth 35 million Egyptian pounds.
The court referred the case back to the prosecutor, asking for further investigation, leaving it up to the prosecutor to determine whether new charges should be filed against Shafiq.
Earlier on Thursday, another court acquitted Shafiq along with Mubarak's two sons, Alaa and Gamal, in another corruption case brought against the officials, regarding land sales and the embezzlement of public funds. The prosecution has not yet said whether or not they will appeal the ruling, but Mubarak's sons, who are detained in the Tora Prison in southern Cairo, will not be released as they face additional corruption charges.
The Mubaraks along with Ahmed Shafiq were referred to the criminal court last September. Shafiq was accused of aiding the sale of 40,000 meters of land owned by the Pilots Association for Land Development to the Mubaraks at lower than market price.
The long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted from the presidency during nationwide mass protests during the 2011 uprising, is currently under home arrest in the Maadi Military Hospital after he was freed from prison in August.
