From Business Day Live

Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, who left jail for house arrest on Thursday, enjoyed near absolute power for three decades as president before a 2011 uprising overthrew him.

The 85-year-old’s spectacular fall from grace sent shock waves across the Middle East and beyond when he announced his resignation on February 11 2011 after an 18-day popular revolt.

Just months later, in April, he was arrested and subsequently charged with various crimes, including corruption and inciting the deaths of at least 850 people killed during the uprising.

Last year, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Mubarak appealed, and a retrial was ordered.

His next hearing is scheduled for this Sunday with the case likely to drag on for months.

On Thursday, he was flown from prison by helicopter to a military hospital, where he will be held under house arrest, after he was cleared for conditional release while the trial continues.

The spectacle of the man who had dominated Egypt for so long appearing in the dock on a stretcher at his original trial gripped the nation. Mubarak was convicted for his role in the deaths of protesters and could have received the death penalty when the court handed down sentence on June 2 last year.

Read more at bdlive.co.za