CAIRO, Apr 18 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt's top prosecutor will appeal a court ruling acquitting former president Hosni Mubarak's Petroleum Minister of the charge of exporting gas to Israel below market prices, he announced on Saturday.

The Cairo Criminal Court acquitted the former minister and five other defendants in the case on February 21.

The appeal will be reviewed by Egypt's Court of Cassation, which has the jurisdiction to cancel the acquittal and order a retrial in the case.

Former Minister Sameh Fahmy was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the case alongside fugitive businessman Hussein Salem in June 2012. The latter was sentenced in absentia; he was not involved in the first retrial.

The court had also sentenced former vice president of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for gas processing Mahmoud Latif Amer, former vice president of the EGPC for production Hassan Mohamed Akl and former vice president of the EGPC for planning Ismail Hamed Karara to 7 years in prison.

Chairman of the Egyptian National Gas Holding Company Mohamed Ibrahim Youssef was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while chairman of the EGPC Ibrahim Saleh was sentenced to three years.