Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Near-death Mubarak refuses medical treatment, determined to die in Egypt – Sources | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat –After Egyptian Ambassador to the US Sameh Shoukry publicly acknowledged that former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is in bad health, a former security official affiliated to the Egyptian military high command told Asharq Al-Awsat that the announcement of Hosni Mubarak’s death could come at any time. The former security official said “what is certain is that his state of health is declining drastically, in addition [to this] there is information that he is refusing to receive the required medical treatment.”

The source also revealed that there had been attempts to convince Mubarak to travel abroad for medical treatment, most probably to German where he previously underwent treatment to remove a gallbladder last year. However the former security official clarified to Asharq Al-Awsat that “Mubarak is refusing this…in fact, he has asked those around him to allow him to die in his country, and I believe this is just a matter of time” adding “it is unfortunate that this is how it will end.”

Contrary to reports that Mubarak is working on a memoir, the former Egyptian official told Asharq Al-Awsat that “this is untrue…Mubarak’s health is not up to this, he is only regains consciousness rarely, spending most of his time in a comatose state.”

There have also been questioned raised about the location and state of health of former senior governmental figures and former Mubarak aides. For example, former parliamentary speaker Ahmed Fathi Sorour has not left his house in the affluent Cairo district of Garden City for a number of days, and he is refusing to receive visitors or answer telephone calls. As for Egyptian Shura Council speaker Safwat El-Sherif, his [political] office is closed and nobody can attest to his location, although the interim government has official denied reports that he has fled the country.

There have been sharp disputes and exchanges of accusation between Mubarak’s top aides following his resignation, and an Egyptian source informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the majority of Mubarak’s former aides are in hiding, fearing the anger of the people. However the source also said that these aides have not lost hope or belief that their political careers can be resurrected.

A minister in Egypt’s interim government, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, said that “Mubarak did not receive the complete truth from those around him, they were the ones giving the orders, and they were aided in this by his failing health.” He added “he could have received information from dozens of monitoring agencies however he did not listen to anyone; he trusted his close advisors and believed that they were telling him the truth and were not underplaying the facts.”