This image, taken from Egyptian state television, shows 84-year-old former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak lying on a hospital bed, inside a cage in a Cairo courtroom, Wednesday Aug. 3, 2011 (Photo: AP)
Toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak has been transferred to a military hospital in the upscale Cairo neighbourhood of Maadi amid tight security measures. According to Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news site, media personnel were denied entry to the hospital.
Mubarak came close to death on Tuesday after his heart stopped, but paramedics at the Tora Prison hospital resuscitated him with electric shocks, reported state news agency MENA, which also quoted unnamed "official" sources as saying that the 84-year-old will be transferred to a military hospital within a few hours, should his health condition deteriorate further.
Mubarak was incarcerated in Tora Prison after being given a life sentence early this month for failing to stop the killing of peaceful protesters. For months during his trial, he was held captive at the International Medical Centre, a military hospital on the Cairo-Ismailia road.
It is understood that Mubarak is suffering from cancer and heart problems. During his stay at the Medical Centre, it was reported on quite a few occasions that his heart had stopped and had to be restarted by doctors.
Revolutionary forces called for Mubarak's incarceration in Tora Prison before the verdict, to join the rest of the defendants from the former regime who were kept at the facility during their trials.
The ousted president's condition was occasionally cited as a reason to keep him away from Tora, but after being sentenced to life imprisonment, he was transferred to the notorious facility, reportedly while shouting and ranting.
Transferring him to a military hospital could well infuriate the revolutionary forces once again.
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