Mubarak refuses food, doctor says

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt – Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has refused to eat for four days, has lost weight and is weak, his chief doctor said Tuesday, increasing speculation that the ousted leader won’t stand trial next week as scheduled.

Any delay in Mubarak’s trial would likely further enflame tensions between the military council ruling Egypt since Mubarak’s fall and protesters frustrated with the pace of change. Many Egyptians already accuse the army of dragging its feet in prosecuting former regime figures and officials accused of killing protesters during the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak on Feb. 11.

On Tuesday, Assam Azzam, the head of Mubarak’s medical team, said the former leader was weak and had lost weight after refusing to eat for four days.

Doctors at the hospital in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh where Mubarak has been under house arrest since April said the former president consumes liquids, but only when pressured by the medical team or his wife.