Hosni Mubarak faces final retrial over 2011 killing of protesters

CAIRO: Egypt's highest appeals court today ordered a final retrial against former president Hosni Mubarak over his alleged inaction which led to killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising that toppled his three decade-long regime.

The Court of Cassation accepted the appeal filed by the general prosecution against an earlier court ruling that had dropped the charges against 87-year-old Mubarak and seven of his aides.

The court "accepts the prosecution's appeal and has set a session for November 5 to review it", Judge Anwar El-Gabry announced.

The decision this time will be final and cannot be appealed.

However, the court upheld the acquittal of the other defendants in the same case, including Mubarak's ex-interior minister Habib El-Adly and six security aides.

Mubarak and seven former security commanders were cleared in November last year, against charges of killing hundreds of anti-government protesters during the 2011 revolution.

Mubarak was retried on charges of complicity in the killing of unarmed protesters during the 18-day uprising in January, 2011 that ended his 30-year rule.

In 2012, Mubarak was sentenced to 25 years in jail but the verdict was successfully appealed in January, 2013 as the presiding judge ruled that there was not enough evidence presented by the prosecution.

Last month, Mubarak and his two sons Alaa and Gamal were sentenced to three years in prison in a graft case.

The three defendants were also fined $2.96 million and are required to repay $17.9 million. The trio are charged with acquiring about $17.9 million from the presidential palace budget and using the money for the construction and development of family-owned assets.

They are also charged with forging official documents and willfully damaging public property.