Egypt's ex-president Mubarak 'in coma

CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) - Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak, in custody in a hospital of a Red Sea resort, is in a coma, state television reported on Sunday, quoting his lawyer. "The former president is in a full coma after his health suddenly deteriorated," the channel reported. Meanwhile, the head of Sharm el-Sheikh hospital denied that the ex-strongman had gone into a coma, state TV reported. Mubarak, 83, has been in a Sharm el-Sheikh hospital since April when he suffered a heart attack during questioning over alleged fraud and the killing of protesters during the uprising which ousted him in February. He is due to go on trial on August 3 on charges of corruption and murder. On Saturday, officials said Mubarak's trial would most likely be held in Sharm el-Sheikh for security reasons. Mubarak could either be put in the dock or questioned by court officials in his hospital room, with the rest of the trial proceedings taking place in a court room, the official said. An interior ministry official told AFP the trial location "has not been completely settled, but Mubarak will most likely be tried in Sharm el-Sheikh." It was not immediately clear whether his two sons would be transferred to a Sharm el-Sheikh prison from Cairo if the hearings take place in the resort. Protesters who have staged a sit-in for more than a week in Cairo's Tahrir Square, epicentre of the demonstrations that ousted Mubarak, demand his transfer to Cairo.

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