Egyptian court: Hosni Mubarak can go free

Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak waves to his supporters from the balcony of his room at the Maadi military hospital in Cairo on November 29, 2014 after a court dismissed a murder charge against the ousted leader over the deaths of protesters during a 2011 uprising that ended the former strongman's decades-long rule. The court also acquitted Mubarak of a corruption charge, but he will remain in prison because he is serving a three-year sentence in a separate corruption case. AFP PHOTO/AL-WATAN NEWSPAPER/MOHAMED NABILMOHAMED NABIL/AFP/Getty Images

PHOTO: MOHAMED NABIL/AFP/Getty Images

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Story highlights

NEW: There's indifference, fatigue among many in Cairo about Mubarak's fate

He was Egypt's president from 1981 to 2011, when he was toppled in a revolution

Court: The Mubaraks must pay a hefty fine, but do get credit for time served

(CNN) —

Hosni Mubarak had been Egypt’s strong-handed president, controlling the North African nation for nearly three decades. He’d been target of mass scorn and derision, with hundreds of thousands hitting the streets to blast his rule. He’d been in prison, sentenced to spend the rest of his life there for the killing of protesters.

But soon he will be a free man.

That was the decision Saturday by the Cairo Court of Appeals, which state media reported upheld a three-year sentence against the 87-year-old Mubarak on corruption charges, but – accounting for time he’s already served – gave the OK for him to go home.

When and exactly where he’ll get out of custody wasn’t immediately clear.

Nor was it evident that Egyptians would care much, if and when that happens.