CAIRO (Reuters) – Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s health suffered a “severe deterioration” on Tuesday after the 84-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment last week and transferred to a Cairo jail, the official news agency reported.
Citing sources in Tora prison, it said Mubarak’s health deteriorated after a family visit on Monday that included his wife and wives of his two sons. The sons are detained pending trial in a case involving alleged share-price manipulation.
Mubarak is being held in the prison hospital, after he had been held a military hospital during his 10-month trial. He was jailed on Saturday for his role in killing protesters who rose up against him.
The agency said “the severe deterioration in the former president’s condition” prompted prison staff to bring in an Interior Ministry medical team. He was given sedatives and placed under observation, it added.
It said the family visit, the first since his sentencing, caused him to suffer from depression, prompting him to stop eating.
It was not possible to independently check the report.
Mubarak’s health has been the subject of widespread speculation for years. During his trial, he was wheeled into court on a hospital stretcher for each hearing, though his ailment was undefined.
