Cairo (AFP) - One person was killed in clashes between Egyptian police and protesters in central Cairo on Saturday after a court dropped a murder case against ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak, officials said.

More than 1,000 protesters had converged on Tahrir Square in Cairo after the verdict earlier in the day. Police initially fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse them.

The dead man had been shot, either with live ammunition or birdhshot. "He had been wounded in the clashes," a health ministry official told AFP.

Earlier in the day, a court had thrown out murder charges against Mubarak and acquitted his police commanders of involvement in the deaths of protesters during the early 2011 revolt that unseated the veteran strongman.