Hosni Mubarak's doctor said the former Egyptian president is not undergoing chemotherapy for cancer but suffers from weak muscles and limited mobility, in a rare interview published on Wednesday.
"We are still running tests to ascertain that he does not have this disease [cancer]. It is still not 100 percent that he has it, and he has not undergone any chemical treatment," oncologist Yasser Abdel Kader told the state-run daily Al-Ahram.
His remarks came as Mubarak was flown by helicopter from a military hospital and wheeled into court, where his trial resumed with the defense team arguing its case for the second day on Wednesday.
Mubarak, who is being treated for a heart condition, has attended the session lying on a hospital bed since his trial opened on 3 August last year, except for one occasion when he sat on a chair.
"His muscles are weak, therefore limiting his mobility," said the doctor, Mubarak's personal physician before he was ousted from power last February in a popular revolt, and who was appointed by the court to monitor his health.
Asked by Al-Ahram if mobility is dangerous for Mubarak, the doctor said: "The court asked me if, in his condition, he can sit up on a wheelchair rather than lie on a hospital bed.
"My reply was that it was not dangerous … but he does not have the ability to move a lot," he said.
He also dismissed claims that Mubarak exercises in detention, as he did before his incarceration when he was president and known to play a good game of squash.
"He cannot do that. … His health is unstable," Abdel Kader said.
The doctor said he was under orders by the court not to reveal details about Mubarak's health.
"The only thing I can say is that concerning the tumors, he is stable. He had a tumor and it was removed during his medical trip to Germany," he said of Mubarak’s March 2010 surgery.
Doctors said at the time that he had suffered from chronic calculus cholecystitis — an inflammation of the gall bladder accompanied by gall stones — and a duodenal polyp.
He underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder and the polyp.
His lawyer Farid al-Deeb has repeatedly said that Mubarak suffered from cancer, but officials dismissed the claims.
On Tuesday, the lawyer said there is no evidence that Mubarak ordered Egyptian security forces to open fire on protesters, as the defense team challenged prosecution calls for the ousted president to be hanged.
During his interview, Abdel Kader said he had earlier decided to stop supervising Mubarak's health because of what the doctor described as arrogant behavior by the ousted leader's wife, Suzanne. But he retracted his decision because the court insisted that he continue, Abdel Kader said.
Suzanne Mubarak once got angry at security guards, claiming they allowed the doctor in without permission, he said. She also got mad at the International Medical Center director for introducing the doctor more than once, saying, "Do we have to hear this every time? We already knew that he's Dr. Yasser," Abdel Kader said.
The doctor expressed anger at the way she treated him, as well as security guards and the nursing team. Although security guards became used to this, Abdel Kader said, doctors reject her behavior but consider her feelings.
