Cairo, Aug 20, 2013: Hosni Mubarak, the man whose 30-year tyranny as Egypt’s leader triggered a revolt which shook the Middle East, will be freed from prison by the end of the week, his lawyer claimed.

Many Egyptians, plagued by violence and insecurity, will welcome the return of the former President; others will greet his release with indifference. For some, the development will mark the most obvious confirmation yet that the military establishment still reigns supreme and the gains of the Egyptian revolution are being lost.

Mubarak, who was arrested shortly after being toppled in February 2011, is currently being held in the Tora Prison in south Cairo.

Following an appeal against his original conviction for involvement in the killing of protesters, the only grounds for the former President’s continued detention rest on a separate corruption case relating to gifts he received during his time in power. But Mubarak’s lawyer, Farid el-Deeb, said that case would soon be resolved.