Egypt's ousted leader Hosni Mubarak has been put on life support after his heart stopped as he arrived at a military hospital, a security official says.
MENA said the 84-year-old Mubarak was "clinically dead" when he arrived at the hospital from prison. It said doctors used a defibrillator on him several times but efforts were not successful.
But the official said Mubarak was put on life support. He had no further details on his condition. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.
An interior ministry spokesman said Mubarak was moved from prison to a military hospital Tuesday after he suffered a stroke and his condition rapidly worsened.
Spokesman Alaa Mahmoud said the 84-year-old Mubarak was moved by ambulance from the hospital in Torah Prison to nearby Maadi Hospital in southern Cairo. The military facility is where Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar Sadat, was declared dead after being shot by Islamic extremists in 1981.
Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison on June 2 for failing to stop the killing of protesters in last year's uprising that led to his ouster.
State TV said early Tuesday that Mubarak was in "critical" condition and has been placed on a respirator. The state news agency MENA said earlier Mubarak's heart stopped and a defibrillator was used to restart it.
It later reported that the prison authority has called in his doctors to treat his stroke in "a fast deterioration of his health" and that they were giving him medications to break up blood clots.
Moving Mubarak out of prison is likely anger many in the public, where there is a widespread suspicion that security and military officials sympathetic to their old boss are giving him preferential treatment. The public is already stirred up over recent decisions by the ruling military council that have stripped the incoming president from most of his powers, further enshrining the powers of the military. Tens of thousands gathered in Tahrir Square on Tuesday to protest the new decisions.
Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison on June 2 for failing to stop the killing of protesters during last year's uprising against him. He was transferred to prison after spending months in a military facility in detention. Officials have since repeatedly reported his health was deteriorating.
Since his arrival at the prison directly after his sentencing, Mubarak has been suffering from high blood pressure and breathing difficulties and deep depression, according to prison officials. His lawyer said he didn't trust the doctors and appealed for his transfer to a better equipped hospital.
