Egypt court orders retrial in Mubarak embezzlement case

An Egyptian court Tuesday accepted an appeal against a three-year sentence handed to ousted president Hosni Mubarak over embezzlement and ordered a retrial, Xinhua reported citing state media.

Last May, the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Mubarak to three years over embezzling public funds designated for the maintenance of the presidential palace.

Mubarak's two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were sentenced to four years in jail over the same charge.

Along with four other aides, Mubarak and his sons were charged with misappropriating 100 million Egyptian pounds ($14 million) in public funds intended to refurbish the presidential palace.

The four aides, who were accused of facilitating Mubarak's seizure of public funds, were eventually acquitted for lack of evidence.

In November, the Cairo Criminal Court dismissed the charges against 86-year-old Mubarak, his interior minister, and six of his aides over the killing of protesters in the 2011 protests that ended his 30-year rule.

After that, some legal experts said Mubarak should be freed as he already had served more than three years since he was detained in April 2011.