Deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could be freed from prison this week, according to his lawyers, who have filed a petition for immediate release.
A court hearing Monday in Cairo centered around a corruption charge in which Mr. Mubarak, who was ousted following massive street demonstrations in 2011, was accused of misusing public funds intended for renovations of his presidential palaces and diverting the millions of Egyptians pounds to improve his private homes.
According to a person who attended the hearing, the presiding judge didn't believe there was enough evidence to hold the former president and referred the case back to prosecutors for further investigation. A second matter, in which Mr. Mubarak is accused of accepting expensive gifts from a state publishing house, was also heard and the judge ordered him held for 15 days pending an investigation.
Attorneys for Mr. Mubarak said they are appealing the order to remand the former president and expect to prevail, raising the possibility that he could be released within days.
"We are working on this now and he will be released in 48 hours," said Farid al Deeb, Mr. Mubarak's lead attorney. The former president didn't attend Monday's proceeding because of security concerns, he said.
The possibility of Mr. Mubarak's release comes against a backdrop of historic violence in Egypt following the ouster of his successor, Mohammed Morsi, by the military, which has cracked down on his Islamist followers and the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood. Any decision to free Mr. Mubarak could heighten tensions in the street which reached a crescendo last week when hundreds of Mr. Morsi's supporters were killed during the clearing of two large sit-ins by security forces.
If Mr. Mubarak were released, it would represent a stunning turn around in Egypt's trajectory since his removal in 2011. While his imprisonment was seen by many as a nominal victory in Egypt's transition to democracy, it rankled members of the old establishment who are now enjoying a resurgence following the military coup on July 3rd.
The prosecutor's office has filed corruption cases against Mr. Mubarak on a rolling basis throughout the last two years, a strategy that officials in that office say was meant in part to ensure that the former president would not leave custody. At least one of these charges is still being adjudicated, namely a case in which the former president is accused of accepting expensive villas in exchange for lucrative business contracts.
Mr. Mubarak is also facing a retrial in charges he conspired to kill protesters during the 2011 revolt, in addition to other corruption charges. But the two-year limit on holding him pending the trial has expired, another of his attorneys, Yousri Abdel Razeq, said.
According to the Associated Press unnamed judiciary officials said there is no legal foundation to continue holding Mr. Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for nearly 30 years.
Mr. Abdel Razeq said the latest charges of corruption were politically motivated by Mr. Morsi and that the court will bear this out in future decisions. "The problem is that Morsi was fabricating cases with no legal basis," he said.
Mr. Morsi, who was elected last summer in Egypt's first free election, remains under arrest and is facing charges of conspiring with the Palestinian militant group Hamas to escape jail during the 2011 revolt. The prosecutor's investigation could see Mr. Morsi face trial for murder and espionage in the service of a foreign group—a charge that would be akin to treason and could carry a maximum life sentence.
—Margaret Coker and Leila Elmergawi contributed to this article.
