The sons of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Alaa Mubarak (left) and Gamal Mubarak in a 2010 file photo . Photo: ReutersThe sons of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Alaa Mubarak (left) and Gamal Mubarak in a 2010 file photo . Photo: Reuters

The sons of deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak were released from prison yesterday, security officials said, a move that could fuel tension after the violent anniversary on Sunday of the 2011 uprising that toppled the autocrat.

An Egyptian court last week ordered the release of Alaa and Gamal Mubarak pending their retrial in a corruption case.

Mubarak’s sons, big businessmen in his era of crony capitalism, were released at 2am. Accompanied by their lawyer and bodyguards, they were driven to their home in Cairo’s upscale Heliopolis area, security officials said.

Security and medical officials said they had also visited Mubarak in the military hospital where he is still in detention. Judicial sources have said Mubarak could soon be freed pending retrial in a corruption case as the former air force commander currently has no convictions against him.

Move could fuel tension after violent anniversary on Sunday of uprising against Hosni Mubarak

Elected President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the latest man from the military to rule Egypt, has restored a degree of stability after Mubarak’s fall triggered nearly four years of political and economic distress. But signs of discontent, including rare protests in downtown Cairo, emerged in the run-up to Sunday’s anniversary of the start of the uprising.

On Saturday, activist Shaimaa Sabbagh was shot dead during a protest in central Cairo. In rare criticism of Sisi, a front-page column in state-run newspaper al-Ahram blamed “the excessive use of force” for her death and called for changes to a law passed on Sisi’s watch which severely restrict protests.

“Four years after Egypt’s revolution, police are still killing protesters on a regular basis,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

“While President Sisi was at Davos at the World Economic Forum burnishing his inter­national image, his security forces were routinely using violence against Egyptians participating in peaceful demonstrations.”

At least 25 people were killed in anti-government demonstrations on Sunday on the anniversary of the 2011 uprising that raised hopes of greater freedom and accountability in Egypt, a close .US ally with influence across the Arab world.

Witnesses say security forces with rifles and police armed with pistols fired at protesters. Some called for a new uprising.

Security officials said 19 people were killed in the Cairo suburb of Matariya, a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement that then army chief Sisi removed from power in 2013 after mass protests against its rule.

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