Egypt’s Mubarak health worsens, to be taken to hospital

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. AP FILE PHOTO

CAIRO – Egypt’s state prosecutor on Thursday ordered imprisoned former dictator Hosni Mubarak to be transferred to a military hospital after his health deteriorated, a source at the prosecutor’s office said.

Mubarak, serving a life sentence over the killings of protesters, was briefly taken to hospital on December 19 for scans after he fell in his prison bathroom and hurt his head.

Mubarak, 84, will be returned to prison after he is treated, the source said.

A court sentenced the veteran strongman to life in June for failing to prevent the killings of protesters during the 18-day revolt that ended his three-decade rule in February 2011. Some 850 people died in the uprising.

Mubarak spent nearly a month in hospital after he fell unconscious on June 19, with state media declaring him clinically dead on arrival. But medical sources said he appeared to have fallen into a temporary coma.