Mubarak may be freed in days; top Brotherhood leader held

A lawyer for Egypt's Hosni Mubarak said the ousted autocratic president could be released from custody within days, but state media said it could be two weeks. At the same time, Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie was arrested by security forces in Cairo early Tuesday, Egypt's Interior Ministry said. Mubarak lawyer Farid el-Deeb told reporters the Cairo Criminal Court would likely release his 85-year-old client this week after the court absolved him of charges he abused public funds. Mubarak and his two sons were charged with embezzling funds for presidential palaces. The sons, Alaa and Gamal, were ordered by the court to remain in custody. The military-led interim government had no immediate comment. Egyptian state media reported Mubarak would remain in custody for another two weeks under a previous judicial order before authorities decide whether to release him. El-Deeb said in June 2011 Mubarak had stomach cancer "and the tumors are growing." He said a month later Mubarak slipped into a coma. The ousted leader, who remains in poor health, faces trial on several corruption charges and a retrial on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters whose revolt forced his ouster in February 2011. Mubarak has said he knew nothing about any crimes committed. He has been held for more than two years as some of those trials have proceeded. Because his custody period exceeds the one allowable under Egyptian law, a judge could release him to await trial outside of custody, Justice Ministry officials and prosecutors told The Wall Street Journal. Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for almost 30 years before being toppled by the 18-day popular uprising, was ordered back to Tora Prison outside Cairo from a military hospital in April. The former military commander was transferred to the hospital since late December 2012 after allegedly falling and breaking a rib. The possibility of his release threatened to inject a volatile new factor into the standoff between Egypt's military and Islamist supporters of the deposed President Mohamed Morsi. Mubarak's overthrow led to Morsi's popular election -- Egypt's first freely elected president. Mass protests led to Morsi's ouster at the hands of Egypt's military July 3. The military also backed Mubarak. His release would come as new charges were brought against Morsi, who has been held at an undisclosed location since he was deposed. Morsi now stands accused of participating in the detention and torture of citizens, murder and attempted murder and disseminating false information, among other charges, the state Middle East News Agency said. The charges could carry a maximum life sentence. Members of his party who haven't been detained by the military say he is innocent and the charges against him are politically motivated. The interim regime has been pressing to crush the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist religious, political, and social movement. Badie was arrested shortly after midnight in northern Cairo Tuesday, Egypt's Interior Ministry said. Badie, 70, the group's spiritual leader, was hiding in a building in Cairo's Nasr City neighborhood near Rabaa El-Adaweya Mosque, where hundreds of Morsi supporters were killed Wednesday when police dispersed a 6-week-old sit-in, ministry spokesman Abdel-Fattah Osman said in a TV interview cited by Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram. Egyptian satellite channel ONTV later showed live video of Badie sitting on a couch in an unidentified location after being captured. A police officer holding a rifle stood beside him. Badie is the latest Brotherhood leader arrested since Morsi's ouster. Jailed Brotherhood leaders include deputy leader Khairat al-Shater, former Supreme Guide Mahdi Akef and Saad el-Katatni, chairman of the group's Freedom and Justice Party. Six Brotherhood leaders, including Badie and Shater, are charged with inciting the murder of protesters at the group's headquarters in southeastern Cairo.