CAIRO – An Egyptian court will review a petition on Wednesday for the release of deposed president Hosni Mubarak, judicial sources said, meaning he could leave prison as the legal grounds for his detention crumble. The court will convene at the Cairo prison where Mubarak is being held, the sources said. Fareed El-Deeb, the lawyer who filed the petition, said on Monday he expected his client to be freed this week after a court ordered his release in one of the remaining corruption cases against him. Mubarak, 85, was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to stop the killing of protesters during the uprising against him in 2011. But the appeals court accepted his appeal in January and ordered a retrial. He is now being retried on those charges, but has served the maximum amount of pre-trial detention permitted in the case. The last remaining corruption case relates to allegations that Mubarak received gifts from a state-run publisher. However, his family has paid back the value of the alleged gifts, strengthening Deeb's confidence that he will be released. – Reuters
