Photo: Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera television broadcast live the appearance of former President Hosni Mubarak, confined to a cage in the courtroom.

Cairo — Hosni Mubarak's health entered a "dangerous" phase on Wednesday, and doctors had to use a respirator five times to help the deposed Egyptian leader breathe, according to security officials at his prison.

The officials at Torah prison south of Cairo said Mubarak, 84, was suffering from shock and high blood pressure as well as breathing problems. Specialists were called in to examine him, and a transfer to a military hospital was being considered, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Mubarak's health crisis came days after he was sentenced to life in prison for failing to stop the killing of protesters in the uprising that unseated him last year.