/ 10 June 2012

Egypt’s Mubarak in critical condition

Ailing former Egypt president Hosni Mubarak.
Ailing former Egypt president Hosni Mubarak.

A medical team treating Mubarak in Tora prison hospital said in a report that the 84-year-old former leader was in danger of a stroke due to his irregular heartbeat, the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram reported.

His heart problems have also left him suffering from shortness of breath and he has had to be put on an artificial ventilation machine for extended periods.

Sources in the interior ministry, which is in charge of prisons in Egypt, on Sunday quashed rumours that Mubarak had died.

“He had slipped into a coma Saturday night but recovered later after treatment,” the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Mubarak’s wife and daughters-in-law were allowed an exceptional visit to him on Sunday due to his health condition, Al-Ahram reported online.

Mubarak, who ruled Egypt from 1981 until a popular uprising deposed him in February 2011, was sentenced to life imprisonment last week on charges of involvement in the deaths of protesters during the revolt. – Sapa-dpa