Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could be free as early as Wednesday or Thursday after an Egyptian court officially ordered his release from prison. Egyptian officials confirmed the news to Reuters and the Associated Press.

The 85-year-old Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for three decades, agreed to pay back the money and gifts he received from state news organizations during his time in office. There had been increased speculation about whether Mubarak would actually be released. He has been behind bars since the Arab Spring uprising when he was forced from office.

Mubarak's story adds to an already eventful week in Egypt, where thousands of people have died amidst complete political chaos. Yesterday the Egyptian police arrested Mohamed Badie, the spirtual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. A great deal of the bloodshed in the last week has stemmed from the police crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood's operations.

Many people fear that Egypt will return to the state it was in during Mubarak's dictatorship. Those who campaigned for the overthrow of Mubarak are torn over the latest developments. While the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi was democratically elected after Mubarak's ouster, his authoritarian policies led to his own overthrow at the hands of the military. Advocates for secular democracy seem to be faced with a choice between Islamist democracy and secular military rule.

Ziad Abdel Tawab, deputy director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, said to USA Today's Sarah Lynch that "it doesn't really make a difference if Mubarak is back because all the symptoms of Mubarak have been back."

The nation seeks political stability but the violence, trials, disagreements, and an overall civil war-like atmosphere make for a rough road ahead. A constitution revision committee has proposed to ban religious-based political parties, which would be significant considering the religious affiliation of the Muslim Brotherhood party.

Badie and other members of the brotherhood party are expected to stand trial sometime within the next week.