Official says health of Egypt's Mubarak deteriorating

State TV say former president in ‘critical’ condition after heart stops

CAIRO (AP) — Hosni Mubarak’s health has taken a turn for the worse and he is likely to be moved out of his prison hospital to a military facility nearby, an Egyptian prison official said Tuesday.

State TV said Mubarak was in “critical” condition and has been placed on a respirator. The state news agency MENA said Mubarak’s heart stopped and a defibrillator was used to restart it.

The prison official speaking to The Associated Press said doctors reported that the 84-year-old former president has fallen unconscious. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He said the prison authorities are considering moving him to the military hospital nearby in Maadi, a suburb near Torah Prison where he is held.

MENA also reported he will likely be moved in the next hours if his health deteriorates.

Moving Mubarak out of prison would likely anger many in the public, where there is widespread suspicion that security and military officials sympathetic to their old boss are giving him preferential treatment.

Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison on June 2 for failing to stop the killing of protesters during last year’s uprising against him. He was transferred to prison after spending months in a military facility in detention. Officials have since repeatedly reported his health was deteriorating.

Since his arrival at the prison directly after his sentencing, Mubarak has been suffering from high blood pressure and breathing difficulties and deep depression, according to prison officials. His lawyer said he didn’t trust the doctors and appealed for his transfer to a better equipped hospital.