Mubarak Has Stomach Cancer: Lawyer

Activists worry health reports exaggerated to avoid trial
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 20, 2011 11:33 AM CDT
Egypt's Former President Hosni Mubarak Has Stomach Cancer: Lawyer
Egypt's then-President Hosni Mubarak in September 2010.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Hosni Mubarak has stomach cancer, his lawyer says, amid conflicting reports that are emerging two months before the former Egyptian president’s trial. Word that Mubarak has cancer has circulated since he had a growth removed from his intestine last year; today, his lawyer told AFP that the 83-year-old has “stomach cancer and the tumors are growing." Just last week, however, an Egyptian health official called reports of “the deterioration of Mubarak’s health” just “rumors.”

Activists are concerned that Mubarak’s illness is being exaggerated to protect him from being tried over hundreds of protester killings and corrupt financial dealings, the Los Angeles Times notes. “Mubarak and his sons are the symbol of all the corruption carried out under his rule,” says a teacher. “The importance of his trial is not just to punish him, but it will be to set a great example to any ruler or official who will come to power after him. This revolution will lose a large part of its essence if he and his sons are not sentenced.” (More Egypt stories.)

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