Story highlights
NEW: Adviser to current president said they're looking forward to second trial
Hosni Mubarak was found guilty last June of killing protesters
Former president to remain in custody, lawyer says
The court also accepted appeals by Mubarak's co-defendants
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is serving a life sentence for his role in the killings of peaceful protesters during the revolution that eventually deposed him, will get a new trial.
Mubarak and his former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly had appealed their life sentences. A judge agreed, the state-run al-Ahram newspaper reported Sunday.
Mubarak’s lawyer said Mubarak will remain in jail as he awaits his next court date, which will likely be in April.
The judge also said that others facing charges should also be retried, including six interior ministry deputies, the state-run MENA news agency said.
Essam El-Erian, a senior adviser to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy, said that they looked forward to a second trial, the Freedom and Justice Party stated on its website.
“God willed the retrial would take place under Morsy’s rule, with new evidence and new defendants,” El-Erian said.
Mubarak. who ruled Egypt for 30 years, was found guilty last June of ordering the killing of protesters and was immediately transferred to Tora prison in southern Cairo to serve his life sentence.
The 84-year-old has suffered a range of physical problems since he was driven from office in February 2011, following weeks of protests by Egyptians demanding more freedom and reforms.
He attended his trial later that year on a gurney.
Last month, Mubarak was transferred to a military hospital after suffering a head injury and a bruised chest when he slipped in a prison hospital bathroom, Egyptian state-run media reported.
Journalist Sarah Sirgany contributed to this report.