Monday, February 14, 2011

Al Arabiya is reporting that former president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, 82, has fallen into a coma. According to the network, Mubarak went into a coma on Saturday night after falling ill. Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian ambassador to the United States said on the Today Show on NBC, that Mubarak is “possibly in bad health.” He is currently being treated at his home in Sharm el-Sheikh on the coast of the Red Sea.

“I am following the rumors and the press reports related to his health, and might have received some communication at a personal level indicating that he is possibly in somewhat of bad health,” added Shoukry. “I really don’t have sufficient information so I wouldn’t like to speculate [on his condition].”

Al Arabiya was quoting an article published in an Egyptian newspaper called al-Masry al-Youm, which states that Mubarak fainted at least two times while recording his last speech as president on Thursday night. Other newspapers reported that he stopped taking medications and was depressed. Shortly after leaving Cairo and arriving at his seaside home, Mubarak became ill and reportedly went into a coma. Egyptian State Television denies that Mubarak is in a coma, but does say that he is severely ill.

“[Mubarak is suffering from a] severe psychological condition and is declining treatment, despite his illness,” Al-Gomhuria daily, a pro government news agency in Egypt.

Mubarak was ousted as president of Egypt on Friday after 18 days of mass, pro-democracy protests which mainly called for his resignation. He had been president for nearly 30 years.