Two high officials from Mubarak era, Nazif and El-Adly, were acquitted of corruption

Former Minister of Interior Habib El-Adly in court
(Image: Ahram-Online)

Two prominent high ranking officials from the ear of long-standing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Ahmed Nazif and Habib El-Adly, were acquitted by the Cairo Court of corruption charges.

Ahmed Nazif, who was appointed as a Prime Minister by Hosni Mubarak and served on this position for the period of time since 2004 till 2004, and Habib El-Adly, who a close aide of Hosni Mubarak and served as a Minister of Interior in 1997-2011 and was in his position during the January 25 Revolution as well, were accused of corruption in April 2011. The Court has accused them of awarding L.E. 92 million contract for manufacturing the license plates to a German car company without proper tender, as it is regulated by the law.

Both Ahmed Nazif and Habib El-Adly were close to Hosni Mubarak and were strongly associated with his regime. Ahmed Nazif, who served as a Prime Minister, was often criticized for appointing businessmen on the governmental positions, while Habib El-Adly, who was a Minister of Interior, was accused of numerous cases of human rights violations.

Ahmed Nazif, former Mubarak era PM
(Image: Wikipedia)

Both of them were dismissed from their ministerial positions by Egypt’s ex-President Hosni Mubarak during the mass protests of January 25 Revolution, as an attempt to appease protesters and to make the protest wave fade.

Ahmed Nazif and Habib El-Adly were already tried by the court and received their sentences back in 2011. Ahmed Nazif received one year in prison, while Habib El-Adly was sentenced to five years behind the bars. But Cairo Court has reviewed their cases after the appeal against the previous verdict was filed in 2014.

Thus, both former Mubarak officials were officially acquitted of corruption charges. Ahmed Nazif faces no other charges, while Habib El-Adly remains in custody as he faces separate corruption charges as well.

It’s worth mentioning also that Habib El-Adly was tried along with Hosni Mubarak and six his aides, high ranking officers, in 2011 and was accused of killing more than 800 protesters during January 25 uprising. But all of them, including Hosni Mubarak himself and Habib El-Adly were declared not guilty during retrial in 2014. This decision of the court sparked a lot of controversy in Egyptian society.