CAIRO, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's former military chief of staff Samy Anan was released on Sunday after almost two years of detention for attempting to join the 2018 presidential race without a required military permission, his lawyer Nasser Amin told Xinhua.
"Anan is at his home now and the case is over," Amin said, adding it was a pardon for his deteriorating health conditions.
Anan, 71, had been detained in a military prison since late January 2018 until he was moved to a military hospital in Maadi district south of the capital Cairo in July 2018, where he stayed until his release on Sunday by a decision from the military prosecution.
He was accused of running for a political post without obtaining the military permission, forging election documents to include his name in the voter database and inciting people against the army.
Anan planned to compete in the 2018 presidential election that was later won by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi with 97 percent of vote.
