[JURIST] The Cairo Criminal Court on Sunday rejected a second appeal by former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak [Al Jazeera profile; JURIST news archive] and ordered him to remain in prison [Al Jazeera report] while an investigation into corruption charges continues. Mubarak was returned to prison [JURIST report] earlier this month despite having served the maximum two years in temporary detention. A retrial has been ordered after Mubarak’s initial life sentence [JURIST report] for his role in the death of protesters was overturned [JURIST report] in January. The retrial for those charges should begin May 11, despite the judge who was set to preside over Mubarak’s retrial to recusing himself [JURIST report] earlier this month, further delaying the justice process and aggravating citizens who are already suspicious of the justice system.

Mubarak and members of his former government have been the subject of controversial judicial proceedings since the start of the Egyptian Revolution [JURIST backgrounder] in 2011. In February an Egyptian court ordered the release [JURIST report] of Mubarak’s former chief of staff. In January an Egyptian appeals judge overturned Mubarak’s conviction [JURIST report] and life sentence and ordered a retrial for the former president on the charge of failure to prevent the killing of more than 800 protesters in 2012. Also in January former culture minister Farouq Hosni was acquitted of charges [JURIST report] of corruption and illegal enrichment. Last August the former secretary for the Mubarak’s political party, Safwat El-Sherif, was referred to a criminal court [JURIST report] for abusing his office by obtaining real estates at discounted prices and illegally obtaining $49.2 million. In July an Egyptian court rejected pleas to release [JURIST report] Mubarak’s two sons while they await trial, although their lawyer argued they were detained unlawfully for longer than permissible under Egyptian law. Gamal and Alaa Mubarak, along with seven others, were charged [JURIST report] with stock market fraud, using unfair trading practices and illegally manipulating the market.