The lawyer of former Egyptian president and Director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information Gamal Eid stated that Hosni Mubarak must be released immediately, as the time he has spent in custody corresponds to the term of imprisonment.

MOSCOW, January 13 (Sputnik) — Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak must be immediately released, as the time he has spent in detention exceeds that, to which he was sentenced, lawyer and Director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) Gamal Eid told Sputnik radio Tuesday.

“From a legal point of view, ex-president Mubarak may be released immediately, if the time he has spent in custody corresponds to the term of imprisonment, to which he was sentenced, which was three years,” Eid said, adding that “in this case his release is mandatory.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Egypt’s Court of Cassation announced that it had overturned the embezzlement conviction of the country’s former leader and his two sons, and ordered a retrial.

Egypt court overturns #Mubarak jail sentence in the sole case that was still pending against him http://t.co/Ztehhv6MOz — Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) January 13, 2015

If the court finds Mubarak innocent, following the retrial, “he will gain the right to demand compensation for his [unlawful] detention,” Eid noted.

Egypt’s long-time leader Hosni Mubarak was found guilty on several charges, following his 2011 overthrow, including involvement in the killing of hundreds of protesters. He was initially sentenced to lifetime in jail, but the sentences were later overturned.

In May 2014, the court sentenced Mubarak to three years in jail for appropriating over $14 million of public funds, and his sons Gamal and Alaa were both sentenced to four years of imprisonment.