Court quashes conviction sentence against Mubarak-era security chief

A criminal court had sentenced Mr. Adly, who served under former President Hosni Mubarak before his fall to a popular uprising in 2011, to seven years in prison in April after convicting him on charges of abusing public funds. The Court of Cassation, Egypt’s top court whose decisions cannot be appealed, threw out Mr. Adly’s conviction over procedural errors and ordered a retrial at a different criminal court, the judicial sources said. His lawyer, Farid el-Deeb, told Reuters that the decision allows for Mr. Adly, who did not attend the hearing, to be freed without further legal procedures. A copy of the April verdict obtained by Reuters showed that Mr. Adly and two other ministry officials were ordered to refund a total of 1.95 billion Egyptian pounds (109.83 million dollars) and were fined the same amount. A long-serving official at the apex of Egypt’s feared internal security apparatus, Mr. Adly was acquitted of other graft charges two years ago. He was also cleared in 2014, along with Mr. Mubarak and six aides, of charges related to killings of protesters during the 2011 “Arab Spring” uprising. (Reuters/NAN)]]>