[JURIST] An Egyptian court on Thursday acquitted [BBC report] Habib el-Adly, Egypt’s former interior minister and head of security services under former president Hosni Mubarak [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], of certain corruption charges on which he was convicted in 2011. Specifically, el-Adly was cleared of charges that he ordered police officials to find prospective top-paying buyers for land he personally owned. The acquittal came as a result of a retrial, ordered [Al Jazeera report] by an appellate court, of el-Adly’s 2011 conviction that sentenced him to twelve years in jail. El-Adly was also sentenced to life in prison in 2012, along with Mubarak, for the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising in Egypt [JURIST backgrounder]. Those charges were overturned, however, on technical grounds. Despite his acquittal Thursday, El-Adly will remain in jail based on earlier convictions and potential future charges.

Thursday’s acquittal was respite for el-Adly considering his recent legal woes. In February 2013 a court upheld [JURIST report] a three-year sentence for el-Adly for taking advantage of his political position and forcing police recruits to work on his private property. In February 2012 prosecutors argued [JURIST report] that el-Adly be put to death along with Mubarak for the 2011 protester killings. In August 2011 court proceedings broke down [JURIST report] due to defense misconduct during el-Adly’s trial for the killing of pro-democracy demonstrators. The disruption came one month after the trial judge ordered [JURIST report] a nine-day postponement of the trial. In July 2011 el-Adly was convicted [JURIST report] and sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in granting a no-bid government contract that ultimately wasted USD $15 million in public funds.