Cairo: Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was in a coma on Wednesday, but was off life support and his heart and other vital organs were functioning, security officials said.
Conflicting reports on Mubarak’s health emerged Wednesday as state television reported he had been placed on a life support machine after suffering a stroke.
TV news however, did not confirm a report by the Middle East News Agency (Mena) that Mubarak was clinically dead shortly after he had been moved to an army hospital late Tueday.
“He is lying at an intensive care unit in the neurology and brain department of the Maadi Military Hospital,” a security source said.
“His condition is critical, but he is not dead,” the source citing unnamed doctors at the hospital added.
“He is said to have slipped [in and out of ] consciousness,” the source said.
The Mena report, quoting medical sources, said Mubarak’s heart stopped beating and a defibrillator was used on him more than once.
There was no official statement on the former strongman’s health.
However, state television said a statement is expected shortly from the hospital or the military council that has been governing Egypt since Mubarak’s overthrow.
Mubarak has been in critical condition since he was taken to Tura Prison hospital on June 2 after a court sentenced him to life imprisonment for complicity in the killing of hundreds of protesters in a revolt that forced him out of power in February last year.
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Shawki Salah, a government employee, was not convinced after reading the newspaper report.
“This is a trick from the military council to allow him to be transferred from the prison to the hospital,” he said. “The military wants to ensure that Mubarak is out of the prison before the new president takes office.”
To Fawzia, a street vendor, Mubarak “does not deserve all this humiliation”.
“He is an old man. His wife and [younger son] Jamal are the ones who should be punished for doing bad things behind his back,” she added.
Jamal, a banker-turned-politician, was allegedly been groomed to succeed his father.
“This man is not all bad,” said Mohram Ahmad, a pensioner. “Let’s remember that he did not plunge Egypt into wars. This is enough for him to be respected in his final days in life,” he added.
However, a protester in Tahrir Square, who asked to be called the “revolutionary”, said Mubarak does not deserve mercy.
“Thousands of Egyptians have died of hepatitis, cancer and kidney failure due to the inefficient health care system and corruption in his era. Should he be praised for this?”
Mubarak’s health failure comes as Egyptians are waiting for an official word on who will be the country’s next president.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammad Mursi and his rival Ahmad Shafiq, Mubarak’s last premier, have both claimed victory in a presidential run-off held last week.
The election commission is to announce the winner Thursday.
An ex-air force commander, Mubarak became Egypt’s fourth president in 1981 after his Anwar Al Sadat was assassinated by Muslim militants in a military parade.
