FREEDOM, MOSTLY

Court Orders Mubarak Release

Two more Brotherhood leaders arrested.

An Egyptian court has ordered the release of former president Hosni Mubarak, who was jailed in 2011 after he was thrown from power. He will be placed under house arrest because Egyptian leaders feared his release would anger protestors. Mubarak, who could be released as early as Thursday, had been found guilty of ordering police to fire on protesters during the 2011 uprising, and he has been linked to other charges of corruption. Meanwhile, two other leading figures of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested Wednesday: Clerif Safwat Hegazy was captured trying to flee into neighboring Libya in disguise, and Mourad Ali was detained at a Cairo airport, attempting to catch a flight to Italy. Egypt’s interim minister insisted the country could do without U.S. aid, although the $1.3 billion the U.S. supplies to the country has supplied the army with sophisticated weapons that are the military’s lifeline.