An Egyptian court has cleared three ministers from former President Hosni Mubarak's administration of graft, the first ruling to exonerate former ministers since Egypt's popular uprising. Some of the defendants looked surprised when the verdicts were read out on Tuesday in the court room, which was filled mainly with their relatives and friends. The protests that unseated Mubarak were driven by widespread anger at high-level corruption and the trials of his former associates are being seen as a credibility test for the military council that took power after his downfall. Anas el-Fekky, former information minister, and Youssef Boutros-Ghali, former finance minister, were found innocent on charges of graft, specifically squandering public funds. Boutros-Ghali, who had fled the country, was tried in absentia.