CAIRO – An Egyptian appeals court Sunday overturned Hosni Mubarak’s life sentence and ordered a retrial of the ousted leader in the killing of hundreds of protesters, a ruling likely to further unsettle a nation still reeling from political turmoil and complicate the struggle of his Islamist successor to assert his authority.

The court’s decision put the spotlight back on the highly divisive issue of justice for Mubarak and his top security officers, who also were ordered retried, two years after the revolution that toppled him. The ruling poses a distraction for President Mohammed Morsi as he tries to restore law and order, grapple with a wrecked economy and deal with the aftermath of the worst political crisis since Mubarak’s ouster.

The ailing 84-year-old Mubarak is being held in a military hospital and will not walk free after Sunday’s decision. He remains under investigation in an unrelated case.