Ex-dictator Mubarak wins appeal but remains in jail

Deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on Monday won an appeal for his release over the killing of hundreds of protesters during the revolution that toppled his dictatorial regime.

An Appeals Court examined a request submitted by Mubarak's lawyer Farid al-Deeb for the release of the 84-year-old on the grounds that the period of provisional detention has expired.

The court granted his petition, technically freeing him in the case involving the killing of non-violent protesters during the 2011 uprising that brought him down. But the court ordered him to remain behind bars in connection with other cases, the state TV said.

Mubarak will remain in custody pending investigations over corruption charges related to the misuse of funds allocated for the renovation of presidential palaces, the Egypt Independent reported.

The memorandum argued that Mubarak's provisional detention, which started in April, 2011, has ended because two years have lapsed since the start of his trial.

Prosecutors told the Cairo Criminal Court that the time the former president has already spent in detention exceeded the legal limit for custody detention and there would be no legal reason for his detention.

Mubarak's earlier trial ended in early June 2012, when he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the maximum amount of jail time in Egypt. The former president challenged the ruling, and the courts granted him a retrial.

Mubarak's retrial on Saturday was indefinitely adjourned after presiding Judge Mostafa Hassan withdrew from the case and referred it to a lower court.

Mubarak, who was toppled during the Arab Spring uprising, has suffered several health scares. He is currently being treated at a military hospital in Cairo.

Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal also arrived at the Police Academy to attend a court session that will rule on their release, pending review of a case in which they are charged with financial corruption.

Mubarak's former interior minister Habib al-Adly was sentenced to life last year for contributing to the killing of the protesters.