CAIRO: “Liman Tora Prison Hospital is prepared to receive patients, including those in critical and serious conditions," said a report issued by the parliemant’s health committee on Monday, following an investigation to see if ousted president Hosni Mubarak could be moved there.
The report pointed out that only a ventilator and a device for measuring blood gas were missing in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU)), adding that these devices can be easily found in any police hospital and transferred to Liman Tora.
On the other hand, the committee said that Tora Farm Prison was being renovated when it visited the premises. Authorities announced last year that the Tora Farm Prison was being prepared to accommodate Mubarak.
The renovations cost LE 1, 875, 000, raising questions of squandering public funds as this sum was much higher than was necessary for the renovations, according to the report.
The report called for presenting the blueprints of the renovations on Tora Farm Prison to an engineer to evaluate the costs of the project.
It also called on the Central Auditing Agency to confirm that the costs needed for the medical equipment and renovations were equivalent to the amount paid.
The report added that renovations in Tora Farm Prison should be finished in one week, making the hospital ready to receive patients.
The report also accused former interior minister Mansour El-Essawy of coercion and procrastination in executing the demands cited by the coroner’s office issued on Nov. 23 last year.
The coroner’s report in November stated that the hospital would be ready to receive patients in critical condition within one month.
The interior ministry had told the court in August that the prison hospital wasn’t prepared to handle Mubarak’s critical health condition, pushing to transfer him to the International Medical Center where he is currently residing.
Parliament Speaker Saad El-Katatny said the report would be sent to the Prosecutor General so he can request that the court transfer the ousted president to Liman Tora Prison.
"The PA can not interfere in the court’s decisions," El-Katatny said.
The MPs stressed that Mubarak shouldn’t be given special treatment.
MP Mahmoud Abdel Rady said that all prisoners should be guaranteed the same health care as Mubarak.
Abdel Rady added that government hospitals suffer worse conditions than prison hospitals.
"Health care is a basic right for everyone, should it be a prisoner or not," he said.
Others argued that the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) doesn’t have the "political will" to treat Mubarak like any other prisoner.
Mubarak, former interior minister Habib El-Adly and six of his aides are on trial for involvement in the killing of 225 protesters who were targeted in public squares, not in front of police stations during the Jan. 25 uprising.
Mubarak has been flown into court sessions by a helicopter from the International Medical Center and hasn’t been admitted to prison since his arrest on April 13.
He was staying at the top-notch Sharm El-Sheikh Hospital until his trial started on Aug. 3 when he was transferred to the International Medical Center on the Cairo-Ismailia Road.
Many have accused SCAF and the interior ministry of giving Mubarak and his aides royal treatment, instead of a fair trial.
One MP pointed out that Mubarak’s health condition should’ve been mentioned in detail in the report. However, Akram El-Shaer, head of the health committee, argued that this was a private issue that couldn’t be disclosed to the public as Mubarak is no longer a public figure.
