- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
|
Attorney says Egypt's Mubarak is in a coma. (June 20, 2012) |
CAIRO -- Ousted Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak is off life-support equipment and his health has improved a day after rumors that he was "clinically dead" swept across the world, his attorney said.
"The hospital will issue a statement shortly about his official medical status to curb the rumors and confusion from last night about his death reported by irresponsible media that has driven the country into a state of madness," said Farid El Deeb, Mubarak's attorney.
The development comes as Egyptians anxiously await the outcome of last weekend's presidential runoff and more information about Mubarak's deteriorating health.
MENA, a state news agency, reported he was clinically dead late Tuesday. The nation's military rulers quickly denied it.
"He is not clinically dead as reported, but his health is deteriorating and he is in critical condition," said Gen. Mamdouh Shahin, a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
Another state-run media outlet, Nile TV, issued a similar report Wednesday.
It said that Mubarak, 84, was moved to a military hospital in Cairo after suffering a stroke in prison and was on life support. The hospital is guarded and is not letting anyone in, it reported.
Reports of Mubarak's failing health now take a back seat to the political and constitutional turmoil in the country.
The country's military rulers on Thursday plan to release the results of the runoff between Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister to serve under Mubarak, and Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate.
Both men proclaimed themselves winners in the race to succeed Mubarak 16 months after an anti-regime uprising ended his three-decade rule.
Thousands of Egyptians gathered Tuesday night in Cairo's Tahrir Square -- the birthplace of the anti-Mubarak ferment -- to show their support for their preferred candidates. Each side in the election accused the other of voting irregularities and called for an investigation.
One independent group that oversaw the elections, an entity called Judges for Egypt, said in a news conference Wednesday that Morsi won, according to their unofficial projections.
Mahmoud Ghozlan, a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman, said that if Shafik is "proclaimed a winner tomorrow, then it's sheer forgery."
"We will take to the streets like all Egyptian people will to defend ourselves. If it has to be a confrontation, then let it be, as we have followed a transparent democratic process and will not accept any less," he said.
No matter who wins, citizens have been questioning how much authority the president will have in the new Egypt after the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has run Egypt since Mubarak's ouster, stripped the position of much of its power.
"I'm uncertain where we are going," Salma Othman, a 32-year-old Cairo real estate agent, told CNN. "Why are we electing a president if SCAF is issuing a constitutional decree limiting the powers of the president?"
The state of affairs is "worse than before," and "nothing's changed, everyone's negative," Massa el Gamal, an 18-year-old Cairo student, told CNN.
"Those with the revolution and those against, everyone just objects to everything. I would hope that that the new president would bring the people together, but what's happening now is that they are driving people against each other. Don't they know that they will be president of all Egyptians? By the way, I didn't vote because I'm not convinced with either candidate," she said.
Hani Abou Gabal, a 42-year-old public relations manager, said the military rulers are doing all they can to "not give up the country to the Muslim Brotherhood."
"The hospital will issue a statement shortly about his official medical status to curb the rumors and confusion from last night about his death reported by irresponsible media that has driven the country into a state of madness," said Farid El Deeb, Mubarak's attorney.
The development comes as Egyptians anxiously await the outcome of last weekend's presidential runoff and more information about Mubarak's deteriorating health.
MENA, a state news agency, reported he was clinically dead late Tuesday. The nation's military rulers quickly denied it.
"He is not clinically dead as reported, but his health is deteriorating and he is in critical condition," said Gen. Mamdouh Shahin, a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
Another state-run media outlet, Nile TV, issued a similar report Wednesday.
It said that Mubarak, 84, was moved to a military hospital in Cairo after suffering a stroke in prison and was on life support. The hospital is guarded and is not letting anyone in, it reported.
Reports of Mubarak's failing health now take a back seat to the political and constitutional turmoil in the country.
The country's military rulers on Thursday plan to release the results of the runoff between Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister to serve under Mubarak, and Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate.
Both men proclaimed themselves winners in the race to succeed Mubarak 16 months after an anti-regime uprising ended his three-decade rule.
Thousands of Egyptians gathered Tuesday night in Cairo's Tahrir Square -- the birthplace of the anti-Mubarak ferment -- to show their support for their preferred candidates. Each side in the election accused the other of voting irregularities and called for an investigation.
One independent group that oversaw the elections, an entity called Judges for Egypt, said in a news conference Wednesday that Morsi won, according to their unofficial projections.
Mahmoud Ghozlan, a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman, said that if Shafik is "proclaimed a winner tomorrow, then it's sheer forgery."
"We will take to the streets like all Egyptian people will to defend ourselves. If it has to be a confrontation, then let it be, as we have followed a transparent democratic process and will not accept any less," he said.
No matter who wins, citizens have been questioning how much authority the president will have in the new Egypt after the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has run Egypt since Mubarak's ouster, stripped the position of much of its power.
"I'm uncertain where we are going," Salma Othman, a 32-year-old Cairo real estate agent, told CNN. "Why are we electing a president if SCAF is issuing a constitutional decree limiting the powers of the president?"
The state of affairs is "worse than before," and "nothing's changed, everyone's negative," Massa el Gamal, an 18-year-old Cairo student, told CNN.
"Those with the revolution and those against, everyone just objects to everything. I would hope that that the new president would bring the people together, but what's happening now is that they are driving people against each other. Don't they know that they will be president of all Egyptians? By the way, I didn't vote because I'm not convinced with either candidate," she said.
Hani Abou Gabal, a 42-year-old public relations manager, said the military rulers are doing all they can to "not give up the country to the Muslim Brotherhood."
