Mubarak suffers from decline in blood pressure

CAIRO - An Egyptian court on Saturday ordered the dissolution of former president Hosni Mubarak's political party, meeting a demand of the movement whose protests ended his 30-year rule.

The disbanding of the National Democratic Party (NDP) was likely to further appease protesters who had called off fresh demonstrations after the military council that now rules Egypt earlier last week ordered Mubarak detained for questioning about corruption allegations.

The NDP had dominated Egyptian politics since it was founded by Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar Sadat, in 1978.

For many in Egypt, it epitomized the graft and abuse of power that helped ignite the protests which forced Mubarak to quit in February.

"It's illogical for any instruments of the regime to remain, now that the regime itself has fallen," the High Administrative Court said in a statement.

The court also ordered the liquidation of NDP assets, with the funds to be returned to the state because, the statement said, "this money is actually the money of the people".

Many of the party's senior officials have been arrested on graft and other charges and are now in Cairo's Torah Prison.

These include the former head of the upper house of parliament Safwat Sherif, who was the party's secretary-general and steel magnate Ahmed Ezz, who headed its organization committee.

Mubarak, who is suspected of involvement in the deaths of protesters, was previously reported to have suffered a heart attack during questioning by prosecutors on Tuesday.

But the MENA state news agency reported on Saturday that the 82-year-old had suffered from a "steep decline in blood pressure" at the time, citing an unnamed medical official.

The former president was placed in intensive care on Tuesday before being remanded in custody for 15 days.

The public prosecutor has ordered his transfer to a military hospital on the outskirts of Cairo, but MENA reported it was unclear when Mubarak would be moved.

Mubarak had been confined to a villa in Sharm el-Sheikh since 18-day long protests forced him to resign on Feb 11.

His two sons, Alaa and Gamal, are in prison in the capital's south, and face similar accusations.

Reuters - AFP