Mubarak-era prime minster Nazif cleared of graft

Wednesday 04-05-2016 02:29 PM

Former Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Nazeef. REUTERS

CAIRO, May 4 (Aswat Masriya) – A Cairo court acquitted a former prime minister of graft on Wednesday, overturning a five-year prison sentence he was given in a case that had been filed against him in the aftermath of the 2011 Uprising.

Ahmed Nazif served as prime minster from 2004 through 2011,under former president Hosni Mubarak. He was dismissed amid the popular uprising that also toppled Mubarak after he ruled the country for nearly 30 years. 

The Court of Cassation ruling that acquitted Nazif is final and may not be appealed.

It revoked a five-year sentence that he had been handed down by a criminal court in July 2015.

He was accused of exploiting his position to make "illicit gains" worth EGP 64 million ($8.17 million), as per an investigation by Egypt's Illicit Gains Authority. 

He was also accused of accepting gifts from national press associations. 

But today’s ruling by the Court of Cassation, the highest judicial body in the Egyptian court system, clears Nazif of the charges and stipulates that the case may not be appealed.

Nazif, who is not in custody, was not present during today’s court session.

Like many ministers and top officials during Mubarak's later years in power, Nazif was arrested shortly after the overthrow of Mubarak's regime and has since faced multiple charges.

Most Mubarak-era officials, including Mubarak himself, have been acquitted.

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