Democracy
July 22, 2010
3 minutes read

Egypt’s Information Minister denies President is critically ill

Recent reports on the health of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have been denied by information minister Anas ElFeky.

In a statement ElFeky maintained that the president has been issued a clean bill of health by his doctors stressing that reports on his health are based on nothing more than rumor and speculation without any factual basis whatsoever.

He rejected articles in The Washington Times and the Economist which stated that Mubarak was thought by most Western intelligence agencies to be suffering from terminal cancer affecting his stomach and pancreas.

ElFeky ascertained that The president has returned to a regular schedule of meetings with visiting officials since his surgery in early March, despite allegations that he had been drugged to appear well

The Minister added In fact Mubarak is scheduled to attend further meetings and make more trips where he would make a speech to mark Egypt ‘s national day.

The Egyptians are expecting a decision by the 82 year old President who has been in power for over 30 years regarding the upcoming presidential elections and his running for a sixth term. The president has run Egypt with a tight fist with the aid of the Interior Ministry and the security apparatus. The country has been under state law with the enforced ’emergency law’ which has been used to intimidate political opposition and indefinitely detained members of opposition including those from the Muslim Brotherhood.