A Cairo court is examining a request to grant parole to Egypt's former dictator Hosni Mubarak, amid ongoing controversies over the trial of the former North African despot.

The request was submitted by Mubarak’s lawyer Faris al-Dib on Monday on the grounds that his defendant has been already incarcerated for two years.

A judicial source, however, has dismissed the likelihood of Mubarak’s freedom, as he has been remanded in custody over another corruption charge.

The news came after Egyptian judge, Mostafa Hassan Abdallah, withdrew from the new round of Mubarak’s trial, referring the case to another court.

The appeals court is expected to appoint a new circuit to hear the retrial.

The 84-year-old Mubarak was expected to stand trial for the second time on charges of complicity in killing hundreds of peaceful protesters on January 25-31, 2011.

Mubarak, his interior minister, Habib al-Adly, and six security chiefs were due to be tried on charges of killing around 900 protesters during mass protests, which toppled Mubarak in 2011.

Mubarak’s sons, Gamal and Alaa, were also expected to be retried on corruption charges.

Mubarak and his interior minister have already been sentenced to life over the deadly crackdown. However, in January, an Egyptian court accepted an appeal by Hosni Mubarak over his life sentence for his involvement in the 2011 killings. The court ordered a retrial.

Many revolutionaries in Egypt believe the former US-allied strongman should be sentenced to death over his leading role in killing demonstrators.