Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 85, has been held since shortly after he was removed from power in 2011. He was convicted last year on charges of inciting violence against protesters during the popular uprising the led to his ouster and, eventually, the elections that brought Mohammed Morsy to power. He was sentenced to life in prison but appealed, and a retrial was granted early this year.
(CNN) -- Egypt's former president, Hosni Mubarak, left prison Thursday for a military hospital where he'll be under house arrest, state-run media outlet Al-Ahram reported.
A court ordered Mubarak released this week, but Egypt's military issued a decree to place Mubarak under house arrest while he awaits a retrial on charges of inciting violence against protesters during the 2011 uprising, Egyptian media reported.
The 85-year-old Mubarak had been held since shortly after he was removed from power in 2011. He was convicted last year on charges of inciting violence against protesters during the popular uprising that led to his ouster.
He was sentenced to life in prison but appealed, and a retrial was granted early this year. Wednesday, the court ordered Mubarak's release because he has been held past the maximum time he can be detained before being convicted.
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His release comes as Egypt's interim military government extended its crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday, arresting the group's spokesman, state-run television al-Masriya reported.
Ahmed Arif is the latest key member of the group to be taken into custody.
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Earlier in the week, the military arrested Mohamed Badie, the group's spiritual leader, and Safwat Hegazy, a preacher and hardline supporter of the movement. They were among about 100 members of the Muslim Brotherhood taken into custody on Tuesday.
President Mohamed Morsy, who was removed from power by the military amid widespread protest over his rule, has been held since early July.
Egypt has been in turmoil since Morsy's removal from office, with the military battling Muslim Brotherhood members and other Morsy supporters.
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Over the past week, about 900 people -- security personnel as well as citizens -- have been killed. The deaths occurred when the military used force to clear two pro-Morsy sit-in sites in Cairo on Wednesday last week and violence raged after pro-Morsy supporters staged demonstrations Friday.
Mubarak's release is an an "extraordinary development" and a "potent symbol," said Robin Wright, a Middle East analyst with the Woodrow Wilson Center.
But the impact could be muted by the long list of worries Egyptians are already dealing with on the ground -- violence, curfews, economic woes.
"It may not play as big there as it does here," she said.
Mubarak ruled Egypt, the most populous Arab country, for three decades under an autocratic system marked by widespread human rights abuses. He was forced from power in 2011 after demonstrators opposing his rule took to the streets as part of the Arab Spring revolutions across Africa and the Middle East.
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CNN's Karl Penhaul reported from Cairo, Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported in London and Ed Payne wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Slma Shelbayah, Tommy Evans and Saad Abedine, Michael Pearson and journalist Sarah Sirgany contributed to this report
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Then-Vice President Mubarak, left, joins President Anwar Sadat at a military parade on October 6, 1981, the day Islamic fundamentalists from within the army assassinated Sadat. Mubarak succeeded Sadat as Egypt's president, maintaining power for nearly three decades.
Eight days after Sadat's assassination, Mubarak is officially sworn in as Egypt's president on October 14, 1981. Mubarak was re-elected in 1987, 1993, 1999 and 2005.
Mubarak poses with U.S. President Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1982.
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher meets with Mubarak in London in 1985.
Diana, Princess of Wales, visits Mubarak in 1992 during a trip to Egypt.
Mubarak and U.S. President Bill Clinton hold a joint press conference in 1995.
The front page of the Ethiopian Herald reports a foiled assassination attempt on Egypt's president on June 27, 1995. Mubarak survived an attempt by an al Qaeda-affiliated group in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Mubarak, third from left, joins President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, second from left, Jordan's King Hussein, third from right, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, second from right, in Washington in 1995. The Israeli leader and Arafat signed maps representing the redeployment of Israeli troops in the West Bank.
Mubarak welcomes Pope John Paul II to Egypt for a three-day visit in 2000.
U.S. President George W. Bush greets Mubarak at the White House in 2002 to talk about the Middle East crisis and the war in Afghanistan.
In 2005, Mubarak again runs for a six-year term in the country's first multiparty presidential election. He was declared the official winner with about 88% of the vote, but many considered the election to be a sham.
After weeks of Egyptians protesting Mubarak's 29-year reign, the president steps down from office on February 11, 2011, causing celebrations in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
The ousted leader lies in a medical bed inside a cage in a courtroom during his verdict hearing in Cairo on June 2, 2012. A judge sentenced Mubarak to life in prison for his role in ordering the killing of protesters in the 2011 uprisings.
Mubarak and his sons Gamal, left, and Alaa are seen behind the defendants' cage during their retrial at the Police Academy in Cairo on June 8. Mubarak was granted a retrial in January. On August 21, a court ordered Mubarak be freed, pending his retrial.
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