Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president overthrown in 2011 and the first leader to face trial after the Arab Spring uprisings that swept the region, was freed on Friday after six years in detention, his lawyer said.
He left the Maadi Military Hospital in Cairo where he had been detained, heading to his home in Heliopolis.
“Yes, he is now in his home in Heliopolis,” Mubarak’s lawyer, Farid El Deeb told Reuters when asked if Mubarak had left the hospital.
Heliopolis is an upscale neighbourhood where the main presidential palace from which Mubarak once governed is located.
The 88-year-old was cleared of the final murder charges against him this month, after facing trial in a litany of cases ranging from corruption to the killing of protesters whose 18-day revolt stunned the world and ended his 30-year rule.
Mubarak was initially arrested in April 2011, two months after leaving office, and has since been held in prison and in military hospitals under heavy guard.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 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.
Muted reaction to release
There appeared to be little reaction Friday to Mubarak's release in the streets of Cairo.
The muted response is a far cry from 2011 when the ousted Egyptian leader first went on trial over his role in violence against Arab Spring protesters. Emotions were raw then as Egyptians mourned the hundreds killed in the government crackdown following the massive protests.But that euphoria faded as Egypt lurched from one political extreme to another -- from the oppressive government of the Muslim Brotherhood to the military regime that now rules.
Today many Egyptians view Mubarak's reign through rose-tinted glasses as a time when stability, the economy and tourism were stronger. Egyptians who still want change face protest fatigue and are demoralized.
Meanwhile, in a final twist, thousands of Egyptians who took to the streets in 2011 are now in prison.
