Cairo, October 12 (RHC)-- A court in Egypt has ordered the release of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's two sons who had been sentenced to three years in jail for corruption, judicial sources say.

Farid al-Deeb, a defense lawyer, said on Monday that the Cairo criminal court ordered the release of Alaa and Gamal Mubarak after taking into account the time they spent in prison.  Judicial and security sources also confirmed that the brothers would be freed as early as "today (Monday) or tomorrow."

Back in May, a court in Cairo sentenced Mubarak and his sons to three years in prison each for having embezzled USD 16 million from funds meant for the maintenance of presidential palaces.

The brothers were first detained in April 2011, two months after their father was forced to relinquish power during Egypt's popular uprising.

Mubarak is being held in a military hospital in Cairo pending retrial for complicity in the murder of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising.

A number of former regime figures were detained and tried, but most have won acquittal over the past months.