Egypt's ex-leader Mubarak retried after delay

Hosni Mubarak

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Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is to be retried at the Cairo Appeal Court after Judge Mustafa Hassan Abdullah took himself from the case and referred it to the appeal court.

Earlier, a court in Cairo accepted an appeal against Mubarak's life sentence allowing the case to be reviewed. 

"The court has ruled to accept the appeal filed by the defendants... and orders a retrial," Judge Ahmed Ali Abdel Rahman announced on January 13. 

The date of the trial was announced on March 3 by the president of Cairo appeals court Samir Abul Maati. 

The 84-year-old ousted president, together with ex-Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, have been held responsible for the deaths of around 850 protesters. The protesters were killed by security forces during the 2011 eighteen-day revolt against Mubarak, which was fueled by poverty and anger at the regime's corruption.

The former leader and his sons Gamal and Alaa will also be retried on corruption charges, for which they were acquitted in June 2012. 

The retrial will reportedly be based on the same evidence used in the previous trial. "No new evidence will be added to the case," said Mohamed Abdel Razek, one of Mubarak's lawyers.

Mubarak led Egypt for nearly 30 years before he was overthrown in February 2011. Since his imprisonment in Cairo, there have been frequent reports about his deteriorating health condition.