Egypt's Mubarak ordered under house arrest if freed from jail: State TV

CAIRO - Agence France-Presse

In this Saturday, April 13, 2013 file photo, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak waves to his supporters from behind bars as he attends a hearing in his retrial on appeal in Cairo, Egypt. AP Photo

Egypt's military on Aug. 21 ordered Hosni Mubarak to be placed under house arrest, as the former president appeared set for conditional release from prison in mid-trial on murder and corruption charges, the government said.

"In the framework of the emergency law, the deputy military ruler ordered Mubarak to be placed under house arrest," a cabinet statement said.

Interim president Adly Mansour had declared a state of emergency on August 14 after deadly operations to disperse Islamist protest camps, granting security forces broad powers of arrest bypassing the justice system.

A court on Aug. 21 had ordered Mubarak conditionally released on his last remaining charge. He is still facing trial on murder and corruption charges relating to his 30-year rule and the early 2011 uprising that toppled him, but authorities can no longer detain him in prison.

Mubarak, who had been convicted on the charges and sentenced to life last year before a court ordered a retrial, may be released as early as Aug. 22.

But prosecutors might, as they have done in the past, level new accusations against him to extend his detention in prison.