Mubarak sits inside a dock at the police academy
in Cairo in this file photo.
Mubarak to be under house arrest
Cairo, August 22, 2013
Deposed Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak will be put under house arrest after he is released from jail, the prime minister's office said.
Mubarak, who was toppled in a 2011 uprising, is expected to be released from a Cairo prison on Thursday. "In the context of the emergency law, the deputy military commander issued an order that Mohamed Hosni Mubarak should be put under house arrest," read a statement from the office.
The order could be an attempt to placate the many who will object to the release of the man they held mass protests to eject in 2011.
Citing a security source, the state news agency said Mubarak would "likely" be transported to one of the state's vital installations or one of two military hospitals where he will be guarded under heavy security.
Mubarak, 85, was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killing of demonstrators. But a court accepted his appeal earlier this year and ordered a retrial.
The ailing former air force pilot probably has no political future, but the court ruling made some Egyptians uncomfortable.
"His regime was foul. He damaged the country a lot. Unemployment high, no services, no health, no education. This is not a good day for the country," said Hassan Mohamed, 66, an engineer.
Refilling juice cartons in a convenience store, Amr Fathi also expressed disappointment. "I'm not happy, of course. He oppressed us a lot back in the day," he said.
Political upheaval triggered by the army overthrow of Mursi has kept many Egyptians anxious for months.
The military announced a road map designed to bring democracy back to Egypt. But that has not created a sense of stability in the Arab world's biggest nation.
At least 900 people, including 100 soldiers and police, have been killed in a crackdown on Mursi supporters in the past week, making it the country's bloodiest internal episode in decades.
The clampdown, which has included the arrests of top leaders of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, appears to have weakened the Arab world's oldest and arguably most influential Islamist group.
It has been struggling to get people onto the streets to protest what it calls a military coup since security crushed pro-Mursi protest camps in Cairo.
Brotherhood supporters called on Egyptians to hold "Friday of Martyrs" marches against the military takeover.
A grouping calling itself The National Coalition to Support Legitimacy, which has been demanding Mursi's reinstatement, said in a statement, "We will remain steadfast on the road to defeating the military coup."
Mubarak's release from jail would reinforce the Brotherhood's view that the armed forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, is trying to rehabilitate the old government. - Reuters
