An Egyptian Court has dropped all charges against former President Hosni Mubarak who was accused of ordering the killing of 239 protesters during the 2011 uprising that removed him from office. The court also dismissed corruption charges against Mr. Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal.
A separate fraud case related to gas export to Israel, against the former leader and a former oil minister, was also dropped.
Judge Mahmoud Kamel al-Rashidi said too much time had elapsed since the alleged corruption took place for the court to rule on the matter, Reuters reported.
Charges against seven of Mr. Mubarak’s senior officials, were also dropped.
But the 86-year-old former leader is not free as he is currently serving a three-year jail term for a separate case of stealing state funds.
Saturday’s ruling can be appealed.
Mr. Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for three decades, was, in 2012, convicted of conspiracy to kill the protesters. He was convicted alongside his former Interior Minister, Habib al-Adly, and six other officials.
A retrial of the case was ordered in 2013 on a technicality.
The Cairo courtroom erupted in cheers as the judge read out the ruling on Saturday.
Over a thousand people are believed to have been killed in the violent protest that led to Mr. Mubarak’s removal.
After weeks of clampdown by security forces, Mr. Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011.
Court documents at the trial related to the deaths of 239 people and injuries sustained by 1,588, the BBC reported.
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