Egyptian court acquits Mubarak officials of graft

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© Str, EPA
A prime minister and interior minister under former Egyptian leader Hosny Mubarak were cleared Tuesday in their retrial on corruption charges.
Cairo Criminal Court acquitted former premier Ahmed Nazif and former interior minister Habib al-Adly of having paid excessive prices to German firm Eruch Utsch AG in a multi-million dollar deal for vehicle registration plates, reports dpa.
Nazif had received a one-year suspended sentence and al-Adly five years in the original trial in 2011.
A representative of Utsch also received a one year suspended sentence in absentia in the original trial.
Utsch has denied any wrongdoing, calling the 2011 ruling an "arbitrary verdict." It said at the time that the deal was "impeccable" and that it had asked independent auditors KPMG to look into the accusations.
State-run newspaper al-Ahram quoted al-Adly's lawyer as saying that he would apply for his client's release given that there were no further charges pending against him.
In November al-Adly and six other senior interior ministry officials were cleared, on retrial, of responsibility for the killing of hundreds of demonstrators during the 2011 revolution that brought down Mubarak.
Similar charges against Mubarak himself were dismissed by the court.
The acquittals of Mubarak-era officials come as courts hand down a series of heavy sentences against democracy activists.
On Monday Alaa Abdel-Fattah, a key revolutionary activist, was jailed for five years over an unauthorized protest against military trials for civilians. Another 22 defendants received sentences of three to five years.
Earlier this month 230 activists received life sentences over clashes with police in late 2011. According to Amnesty International, 17 protesters were killed in the clashes.
Egyptian authorities have clamped down on protest since mid-213, when then army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in the wake of mass demonstrations.
The authorities say they are restoring democracy after abuses under Morsi, pointing to al-Sissi's election as president last year and forthcoming parliamentary polls.

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