Cairo Criminal Court ordered on Saturday the acquittal of Mohamed Ibrahim Soliman, former minister of housing, on charges of illegally allocating land for the Six of October Development and Investment Company (SODIC).
Soliman’s acquittal comes after he spent 24 months in detention, which exceeds the maximum legal time to be held on remand. However, the charges against Soliman will be considered during his retrial on 19 May.
Soliman and Magdy Rasekh, CEO of SODIC and an in-law of former president Hosni Mubarak, previously received a 5-year prison sentence, while several government officials received lower sentences on the same charges.
Afterwards, Cairo Appeals Court accepted the appeal filed by Soliman’s lawyers and ordered his retrial on Saturday.
A similar acquittal order was issued by South Cairo Criminal Court on 15 April, ordering Mubarak’s release after he was charged with killing protesters during the 25 January revolution.
