Ousted Egypt President Hosni Mubarak freed from detention after six years

Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president overthrown in 2011 and the first leader to face trial after the Arab Spring uprisings that swept the region, was freed on Friday after six years in detention, his lawyer said.

He left the Maadi Military Hospital in Cairo where he had been detained, heading to his home in Heliopolis.

"Yes, he is now in his home in Heliopolis," Mubarak's lawyer, Farid El Deeb told said when asked by international media if Mubarak had left the hospital. Heliopolis is an upscale neighbourhood in Cairo where the main presidential palace from which Mubarak once governed is located.

Mubarak had been cleared for release earlier this month after a top court acquitted him of involvement in protester deaths during the 2011 revolt that ousted him.

Mubarak, 88, was accused of inciting the deaths of protesters during the 18-day revolt, in which about 850 people were killed as police clashed with demonstrators.

He was sentenced to life in jail in 2012 in the case, but an appeals court ordered a retrial which dismissed the charges two years later.

Egypt's top appeals court on 2 March acquitted him of involvement in the killings.

In January 2016, the appeals court upheld a three-year prison sentence for Mubarak and his two sons on corruption charges. But the sentence took into account time served. Both of his sons, Alaa and Gamal, were freed.

On Thursday, a court ordered a renewed corruption investigation into Mubarak for allegedly receiving gifts from the state owned Al-Ahram newspaper.