Mubarak-era interior minister sentenced to 7 years in prison

Mubarak-era interior minister sentenced to 7 years in prison
Mubarak-era interior minister Habib al-Adly was sentenced on Saturday to seven years in prison for squandering public funds during his time in office.
2 min read
16 April, 2017
Adly served as Mubarak's interior minister from 1997 until 2011 [Anadolu]
An Egyptian court sentenced former interior minister Habib al-Adly to seven years in prison on Saturday for corruption, in one of the last cases against Hosni Mubarak-era officials following his 2011 overthrow.

Adly, who was seen as a brutal enforcer for the ousted strongman Mubarak, can appeal the verdict.

He was not present in court on Saturday, but is legally obliged to turn himself in before any appeal is filed, otherwise the court will reject the appeal and the verdict will be final. 

The sentencing came less than a month after Mubarak himself was freed from detention, following his acquittal over charges of involvement in protester deaths during the 18-day revolt that unseated him.

Adly and other police commanders had also been acquitted of those charges.

But the court on Saturday found him and 10 other interior ministry officials guilty of embezzling more than two billion pounds (about $110 million) while Adly was interior minister.

Two other defendants also received seven-year sentences, while the court sentenced six others to six years in prison each and two to three years.

Adly, along with nine others, was also ordered to restore 529 million pounds (about $29 million) that were illegally obtained during his time in office.

Adly, who served as Mubarak's interior minister from 1997 until 2011, had been placed under house arrest since November.

He was released from detention in March 2015 after being acquitted on charges of using his political influence to acquire illicit gains amounting to 181 million pounds (about $10 million). 

In a separate case in 2011, Adly received a 12-year sentence and 15 million pounds ($825,000) worth of fines over charges of corruption and money laundering, but both were dropped in 2014.