Three of the six former security officials acquitted Saturday in the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak have left Tora Prison after completing release procedures.
The court gave Mubarak and former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly life sentences for their involvement in killing protesters during the 25 January 2011 uprising, but set nine other defendants free.
Leaving Sunday were Ahmed Ramzy, the former head of the Central Security Forces, Egypt’s riot police; Ismail al-Shaer, the former head of Cairo security; and Adly Fayed, the former head of public security.
Their and the others’ acquittals on Saturday angered many Egyptians who wanted harsher sentences.
Amnesty International said Saturday that both Ramzy and Shaer “by virtue of their position at least, at a minimum must have known about the illegal use of deadly force against protesters by police forces under their control. The court did not appear to apply the same due diligence standard it applied to Mubarak and Adly.”
Hassan Abdel Rahman, former head of the now-defunct State Security Investigation Services, remained in custody on charges of burning bureau files after Mubarak stepped down.
State-owned news agency MENA quoted a security source as saying prosecutors signed the release order for the three after ensuring they were not being tried in any other cases.
The other senior security officials who were acquitted, Osama al-Marassi, Hassan Abdel Rahman and Omar al-Faramawy, left the court immediately after their acquittal, as they had not been detained pending trial.
Faramawy on Saturday told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he hopes to return to work at the Interior Ministry after his release.
