Cairo - Former Egyptian interior minister Habib al-Adly was released from prison Wednesday after being cleared last week on corruption charges, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
Al-Adly, who headed the police force from 1997 until the 2011
revolution that toppled dictator Hosny Mubarak, had been accused of making corrupt gains of 181 million pounds (23.7 million dollars).
In November al-Adly and six other senior interior ministry officials were cleared, on retrial, of responsibility for the killing of hundreds of demonstrators during the revolution.
Similar charges against Mubarak himself were dismissed by the court.
The acquittals of Mubarak-era officials have come as courts continue to hand down heavy sentences against democracy activists.
Last month saw Alaa Abdel-Fattah, a key revolutionary activist, jailed for five years over an unauthorized protest against military trials for civilians. Another 22 defendants received sentences of three to five years.
Another 230 activists received life sentences last month over clashes with police in late 2011. All but one of them were tried in absentia and some are now being retried after being taken into custody, as required by Egyptian criminal procedure.
According to Amnesty International, 17 protesters were killed in those clashes. No members of the security forces were prosecuted.
Sapa-dpa