Egypt: Hosni Mubarak Coma Claim Denied

Government officials have denied reports that the former president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak has had a stroke and was in a coma.

Mr Mubarak's lawyer Farid el Deeb had claimed doctors were working to bring the 83-year-old back to consciousness.

The lawyer said: "I was informed about the sudden deterioration in Mubarak's health and I am now on my way to Sharm el-Sheikh.

"All that I know so far is that the president is in a full coma."

According to state officials however, Mubarak's doctor denied he was in a coma and said he had suffered a period of low blood pressure but was now stable.

The ousted leader has been under arrest in a hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh since suffering from a heart attack in April.

He was forced from power after 30 years during anti-regime protests earlier this year and faces charges of conspiring to kill protesters and corruption.

He is due to go on trial on August 3.

More than 840 people were killed in the 18 days of demonstrations that took place until Mubarak stepped down on February 11.

Some Egyptians have questioned his bad health, seeing it as a ploy for the army to avoid putting him on trial.

"The news that comes every now and then about him being in a bad condition is designed to gain people's sympathy, especially now with the public demanding that he go to a jail in Cairo and face trial in Cairo, not in his hospital," political analyst and activist Hassan Nafaa said.