Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Egypt's state news agency MENA says deposed leader Hosni Mubarak is "clinically dead" after he was moved from prison to a hospital.

According to an interior ministry spokesman, he suffered a stroke and his condition rapidly worsened on Tuesday.

The spokesman, Alaa Mahmoud, said late on Tuesday that Mubarak, 84, was moved by ambulance from the hospital in Torah Prison to nearby Maadi Hospital in southern Cairo.

State TV earlier said Mubarak was in a "critical" condition and had been placed on a respirator.

MENA said Mubarak's heart stopped and a defibrillator was used to restart it.

The prison official said doctors reported that he had fallen unconscious.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Mubarak was sentenced to a 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 is 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 did not trust the doctors and appealed for his transfer to a better equipped hospital.



* Agencies