Cairo: Egypt’s former interior minister Habib Al Adly, whose policy was a key reason for the 2011 uprising, was released Wednesday night from prison, a week after he was cleared of corruption charges, security sources said.
Al Adly, who served as interior minister for 17 years under the now-ousted president Honsi Mubarak, was released from the Turah Prison in southern Cairo after security authorities were notified by prosecution that he is not wanted in other cases, the sources added.
‘’He left for his house in the October 6 city [in western Cairo] amid heavy security,'' a source said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.
Al Adly had been detained following the 2011 revolt that forced Mubarak out of power. Police’s oppressive policy under Al Adly prompted Mubarak's opponents to start the uprising against his regime on the nation's Police Day.
Last week, a court acquitted Al Adly of graft charges and overturned a freeze on his assets, clearing the last hurdle for him to walk free.
The Criminal Court cleared Al Adly of illegally amassing 181 million Egyptian pounds (around Dh 82.2 million).
He already served three years in prison after convicted of unlawfully employing police conscripts on his private mansion and farmland.
Earlier, Al Adly has been exonerated in two other cases.
Last month, he was cleared of wasting public money in a multi-million dollar deal for vehicle license plates.
In November last year, another court cleared him along with Mubarak of involvement in the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 revolt.
Almost all cases involving policemen over alleged implication in protester deaths have ended in acquittals, drawing ire of anti-Mubarak activists and victims’ families. More than 840 people were killed and thousands injured in the 18-day revolt against Mubarak, according to an independent commission.
