Mubarak's sons and senior aide acquitted of corruption charges

Cairo’s criminal court acquitted on Thursday the sons of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Gamal and Alaa, as well as former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, on charges of corruption.

Shafiq was accused of facilitating the sale of state-owned land to Jamal and Alaa in 1995 using a publicly funded association that he led at the time. According to the complaint filed against them, the two brothers purchased the land for a much cheaper price than the market rate.

In the same session, the court also acquitted four retired generals who had served as board members of the association.

Both Alaa and Gamal will likely remain in detention, as they are facing a separate trial on other corruption charges. It is not clear whether or not Shafiq, who ran for the presidency in 2012, plans to return to politics. After he lost the election to President Mohammed Morsi, he fled to Abu Dhabi.