No doubt you recall reports last month that had deposed Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak being rushed to hospital either in critical condition or “clinically dead.” In fact, here is how no less a news organization than the BBC jumped on the bandwagon of those reporting what seemed like his imminent death:
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been moved from prison to an army hospital in the capital, Cairo, where he remains in a critical condition. He is said to have had a series of strokes and to be on a life support machine.
(BBC, June 20, 2012)
By contrast, I completely ignored all of the reports coming out of Egypt about Mubarak’s health; not least because I preempted them with this cynical but informed outlook:
I suspect that having him wheeled into court on his hospital bed every day during trial and this reported health crisis now are all part of a charade orchestrated by the SCAF to exaggerate Mubarak’s downfall and suffering…
(“Protesters Return to Tahrir Square,” The iPINIONS Journal, June 6, 2012)
Therefore, it came as no surprise to me on yesterday when the lead Egyptian prosecutor ordered Mubarak back to prison, citing a report by a panel of doctors which found that:
[H]is health is currently stable with medication, and it is considered good for someone of his age.
(BBC, July 16, 2012)
This compelled the BBC to eat its report and vindicate my outlook as follows:
There has been a strong suspicion that the many health scares surrounding the former president were designed either to get him moved from prison to a hospital or to help him win clemency.
No shit, Sherlock.
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Protesters return…