Former Egyptian army chief of staff and March election presidential hopeful General Sami Anan is hospitalized in critical condition, reported Reuters, citing two sources.
Anan, 70, was arrested in January and held at a military barrack following the announcement of his plans to run for March Presidential elections. The army arrested him on grounds that he did not ask permission to run for the election though he was still an army officer.
According to Reuters, the former chief of staff has been taken to the intensive care unit at a military hospital in Cairo’s Maadi suburb on Saturday.
Anan, who had been put on retirement by first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi, has been on life support since suffering a chest infection and back problems that have impaired his ability to move, the sources told the news agency.
Anan reportedly suffered a stroke two months ago but recovered. His new sickness is a surprise, the sources pointed out.
The 70-year old man put a stop to his campaign after the army accused him of breaching military law. He was viewed as al-Sisi’s main challenger.
Several other contenders also pulled out ahead of the presidential polls. They claimed the process was not fair and did not provide equal opportunities.
