CAIRO: After a week under medical care in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt's Prosecutor General, Abdel Maguib Mahmoud, said on Sunday that the former president will be transferred to a military medical facility after doctor's have declared him stable enough to be transported by ambulance. As previously reported here in Bikya Masr, Mubarak was evaluated after suffering what at the time was called a “cardiac episode.” Recent medical diagnostics have returned with a new diagnosis which reveals that his heart is healthy enough for travel and further interrogation. Hosni Mubarak and his family took refuge in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh after the uprising in Egypt that ended his 30-year rule of the country. The deposed president now faces questioning over allegations of corruption, money laundering and murder. In a statement on Sunday from the public prosecutor's spokesman, Abdel Said, “The public prosecutor has ordered the Interior Ministry to transfer former President Hosni Mubarak to Mazra'a Hospital in Tora prison in Cairo,” but the hospital has not been made ready to receive Mubarak yet. While the medical staff at Tora continue to prepare for Mubarak's arrival, he is to be transported to another military facility medical centre by Monday evening. A statement on the public prosecutor's Facebook said, “The public prosecutor addressed the interior minister, informing him to take the necessary steps to move the former president to a military hospital, and to implement a custody order issued against Mubarak.” The statement went on to say that the doctor overseeing Mubarak's care in Sharm El-Sheikh has approved the transportation by ambulance without endangering the elderly dictator's health, as long as appropriate medical attention was provided en route. Mubarak was admitted to hospital in Sharm El-Sheikh with complaints of chest pain and shortness of breath on the same day prosecutors ordered him detained for questioning. Various conflicting reports have cast a mystery over exactly what ails the former president. In a previous examination which was reported in an exclusive to Bikya Masr, a medical doctor in Sharm, speaking under anonymity, said Mubarak suffered from mental illness, including clinical depression and forms of psychoses. On Sunday afternoon, Egyptian Prosecutor General Mahmoud cited the overseeing medical doctor, Ahmed el-Seba'i, as saying there was nothing preventing Mubarak's travel to Cairo and that at this time, Mubarak's condition is “stable.” Preparations for Mubarak's transfer to Tora prison's Mazra'a Hospital could take up to a month, whilst medical staff prepare the intensive care unit with necessary equipment should the ex-president's condition worsen. The prosecutor general's office intends to keep Mubarak well enough so that he can complete questioning and give his testimony about his role in ordering violent crackdowns on protesters during the Tahrir Square Revolution. Mubarak is scheduled to remain in military custody for 15 days – ending 28th April – however, due to setbacks from his medical condition, that detention is expected to be extended. BM
