CAIRO – An Egyptian security official says one of deposed leader Hosni Mubarak's most trusted men has been released from prison pending further investigation into corruption charges.
Safwat el-Sherif, the country's former parliament speaker, has walked out of Torah prison late Thursday, the official says. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
El-Sherif, who served also as information minister for two decades and headed the former ruling National Democratic Party, spent nearly 18 months in prison. He was one of Mubarak's strongmen.
El-Sherif is among a long list of other former Mubarak associates — businessmen, ministers and others — who were tried and face trial over alleged corruption.
Popular complaints of endemic graft in government circles were behind 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak.
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