Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was acquitted Thursday by the Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest criminal court, on charges that he killed hundreds of protesters in 2011, according to state-run news agency Al-Ahram. </s> Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was acquitted Thursday by the Court of Cassation, Egypt’s highest criminal court, on charges that he killed hundreds of protesters in 2011, according to state-run news agency Al-Ahram.

Mubarak, 88, served as president for three decades.

Developing story – more to come </s> Former president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, whose 30 years in power were brought to an end by mass uprisings in 2011, has been acquitted by the country's top appeal court and found not guilty of killing protesters.

The judgment, which followed a day-long hearing, could see the former ruler walk free, Reuters reported. "The court has found the defendant innocent," presiding Judge Ahmed Abdel Qawi was quoted as saying.

The appeals court simultaneously rejected calls by lawyers of the victims of the government crackdown to reopen civil suits. As such there is no remaining opportunity for a retrial or appeal.

Mubarak was swept from power by two weeks of popular protest across Egypt's major cities as revolution erupted across the Middle East and North Africa in 2011 during what came to be known as the Arab Spring.

Hundreds of protesters were killed in clashes between Egypt's security forces and thousands wounded before Mubarak stepped down and an interim military council was put in place to rule the country.

Mubarak initially stood trial in 2011 on charges of murdering protesters. Found guilty in June 2012, he was sentenced to life in prison but amid Egypt's shifting political landscape was later cleared of the charges in November 2014.

In the aftermath of Egypt's 2011 revolution the country has lurched from one crisis to another, decimating the country's economy. A coup in June 2013 reinstated military rule under current president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, after a short-lived experiment with democracy led to the election of Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Morsi. </s> Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was freed Friday after a six-year imprisonment following his overthrow during the Arab Spring.

Mubarak, 88, was released from a military hospital in Maadi and is now back at his home in a Cairo suburb, his attorney, Farid El Deeb, told CNN.

Mubarak dominated the nation for three decades as President but went through a series of criminal trials after being forced from office in 2011.

He was sentenced in 2012 to life in prison for complicity in the killings of protesters during the January 2011 revolt. Amnesty International said at least 840 people were killed and more than 6,000 injured during 18 days of street protests in Egypt.

Mubarak was tried again in 2014, but the court acquitted him and the co-defendants. In 2015, judges ordered him to be tried for a third time in the killings.

Earlier this month, Mubarak was acquitted of charges of killing protesters during the Arab Spring uprising. The Court of Cassation, Egypt’s highest criminal court, upheld an earlier verdict, making the acquittal final.

Mubarak has been hospitalized for long periods with heart problems and stomach cancer since his ouster. He has sometimes appeared in court on a stretcher or in a wheelchair. Mubarak had been confined at Maadi Military Hospital for treatment since 2012.

Mubarak’s only standing conviction is for embezzling money to furnish his private residences. He and his sons were convicted of corruption. Last month, Ibrahim Saleh, attorney general of the East Cairo prosecution, accepted Mubarak’s request to include time spent in prison pending trial as part of his sentence in the corruption case, state media reported. </s> Egypt’s top appeals court has acquitted former President Hosni Mubarak of conspiring in the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising.

Mr Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted in 2012, but the case was retried twice.

Thursday’s Court of Cassation ruling is final, which could mean the ailing 88 year old is freed from detention.

He has been confined to a military hospital despite having completed a three-year sentence for embezzlement.

A judge decreed in May 2015 that Mr Mubarak could be released from detention.

However, the government of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi was reportedly reluctant to free him because of the public backlash that might accompany such a move.

Mr Sisi served as Mr Mubarak’s military intelligence chief and led the military’s overthrow of his democratically elected successor, Mohammed Morsi, in 2013.

In all, more than 800 people are believed to have been killed as security forces sought to stop protests in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and other cities around Egypt during the 18-day uprising that forced Mr Mubarak to resign after 30 years in power.

He denied ordering the killing of protesters and insisted that history would judge him as a patriot who served his country selflessly.

Mr Mubarak’s first retrial was ordered in 2013. A judge dropped the charge altogether the following year, but the Court of Cassation ordered a second retrial.

Former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and four of his aides were also acquitted of the same charge on Thursday.

The Court of Cassation also rejected demands by lawyers of the protesters’ families to pursue civil suits against Mr Mubarak. BBC News </s> Egypt's top appeals court has issued a final ruling that acquits former president Hosni Mubarak on charges of killing protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his nearly three-decade reign.

The ruling by the Court of Cassation upheld a previous verdict reached in 2014.

Sitting in a wheelchair as the judge read out the charges against him, Mr Mubarak responded: "It did not happen."

Mr Mubarak, his interior minister and six aides were sentenced to life in prison in 2012, but another court overturned the verdict two years later, citing technical flaws in the prosecution.

Thursday's session, held at the Police Academy in a Cairo suburb, was to review the public prosecutor's request for an appeal. </s> Cairo: Egypt's top appeals court has issued a final ruling that acquits former President Hosni Mubarak on charges of killing protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his nearly three-decade reign.

The ruling by the Court of Cassation on Thursday upheld a previous verdict reached in 2014. Sitting in a wheelchair in the defendant's cage as the judge read out the charges against him, Mubarak responded "It did not happen."

Mubarak, his interior minister and six aides were sentenced to life in prison in 2012, but another court overturned the verdict two years later, citing technical flaws in the prosecution.

Thursday's session, held at the Police Academy in a Cairo suburb, was to review the public prosecutor's request for an appeal.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has returned to a Cairo courtroom for a retrial on charges of killing protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his nearly three-decade reign.

Mubarak, his interior minister and six aides were sentenced to life in prison in 2012, but another court overturned the verdict two years later, citing technical flaws in the prosecution.

The 88-year-old ailing former leader resides in a Cairo military hospital, where he served a three-year sentence in a separate corruption case. No cameras were allowed inside Thursday's hearing.

Hundreds of protesters were killed in clashes with police and Mubarak supporters during the 18-day uprising, part of the Arab Spring protests that swept the region. The military overthrew Mubarak's freely elected successor, the Islamist Mohammed Morsi, in 2013. </s> On Friday, former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was released after serving six years in prison following the overthrow of his regime during the 2011 Arab Spring.

Mubarak, 88, was released from a military hospital — where he has been treated for heart and stomach conditions — and sent to his home in a Cairo suburb, CNN reported.

In June 2012, Mubarak was convicted of complicity in the killings of more than 800 anti-government protesters during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison. Five years later, on March 2, Egypt's top courts acquitted Mubarak's murder charges .

Mubarak served as the African country's 4th president for 30 years following the assassination of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. His term was abruptly ended after widespread protests, originating from Tahir Square, forced him to resign.

Several Twitter users react to Mubarak's acquittal and release from detention: </s> A top Egyptian appeals court on Wednesday acquitted former President Hosni Mubarak on charges of killing protesters during the country’s 2011 uprising. The ruling ends six years of a legal battle over the former ruler’s involvement in the deaths of Arab Spring protesters, a popular uprising that ultimately led to his ouster from government.

Some 900 protesters were killed in Egypt during the revolution, though Mubarak was only implicated in the deaths of 239 in the court case. He was originally sentenced to life in prison in 2012, but an appeals court ordered a retrial. In 2014, he was cleared of all charges, before a final appeal that led to Wednesday’s ruling.

“This ruling is not fair and not just. The judiciary is politicized,” Osman al-Hefnawy, a lawyer for the families of the killed protesters said, according to Reuters.

Mubaraks’ clearance in 2014 sparked public outrage and mass protests. But, outside of defense lawyers, Wednesday’s ruling has so far been met with deafening silence.

“Egyptians have gotten used to this,” said Michele Dunne, Middle East expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “They’ve become used to seeing more and more of the Mubarak-era officials acquitted or have their cases dropped,” she told Foreign Policy.

Not that Egypt’s political climate allows for public protests these days. A military coup in 2013 toppled the Islamist government first elected after Mubarak’s ouster. Since then, the new government under former General Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has violently clamped down on political freedom and dissent. On Monday, Egypt expelled one of the country’s last remaining outspoken opposition politicians from parliament, further undermining the country’s crippled opposition.

El-Sissi’s government likely won’t see a newly-acquitted Mubarak as a threat to power. The former president, who ruled Egypt for 30 years, is now 88 years old and in poor health.

Behind the scenes, there’s potentially a quiet power struggle simmering between the ruling military el-Sissi represents and Mubarak’s sons, who have close ties to the country’s business elites. Dunne said it’s still unclear whether Mubarak’s acquittal will pave the way for any political future for his sons, but it’s not out of the question.

But the acquittal Wednesday showcased how far the country has drifted from the ideals that animated the early days of the Arab Spring, particularly for the young people who led the revolt against Mubarak.

“It’s just one more sign that the changes that they pushed for and thought they had won in 2011 are completely gone,” Dunne said.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is acquitted of involvement in the deaths of hundreds of anti-government protesters during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.