Egypt’s military rulers announce Mubarak court date, despite heart troubles (VIDEO)

Egypt's military rulers appear to have postponed a court appearance by Hosni Mubarak and his sons, Gamal and Alaa, because of the former Egyptian president's condition.

In a sign that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces was pushing ahead with investigations against Mubarak, in spite of his complaints of heart trouble — he reportedly suffered a heart attack on Tuesday while being questioned by prosecutors — state media had reported that the three Mubaraks had been summoned to appear before a Cairo court Apr. 19 for questioning. 

Mubarak was reported Thursday to be in intensive care in a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh with an “unstable heart condition,” according to The Hindu, quoting Egyptian authorities.

However, military sources quoted by Al Jazeera said that Mubarak was being shifted from Sharm el-Sheikh to Cairo, and it remained unclear whether he would be sent to a hospital or to prison.

Mubarak and his sons were on Wednesday ordered by Egypt's prosecutor general to be detained for 15 days pending investigations into allegations of corruption, the squandering of public money and the abuse of authority for personal gain.

Gamal and Alaa were driven through a crowd of 2,000 protesters and taken to Cairo's Tora prison, which houses Egypt's most notorious political prisoners and fallen officials.

According to Al Jazeera:

Gamal, Mubarak's younger son, was a senior official in the ruling party and was widely seen as being groomed to succeed his father before popular protests brought down the regime.

His increasing role in the government over the last decade and the belief that he might succeed his father helped galvanise Egypt's protest movement.

Egyptian state TV reported Tuesday that Mubarak, 82, collapsed just before he was to have been questioned by prosecutors. The report added that Mubarak had stopped eating and drinking after he was summoned for questioning two days earlier.

The state-run newspaper Al Ahram said he had suffered a minor heart attack and would need a week tor recover.

— Freya Petersen