( CNN ) -- Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak 's health is deteriorating as he struggles with complications from stomach cancer , his lawyer said Monday . `` He has cancer in the stomach , and it 's getting worse , '' said Farid El Deeb , the lawyer for Mubarak and his family . The news on Mubarak 's condition comes five weeks ahead of his and his two sons ' criminal trial . Mubarak , who stepped down amid intense domestic and international pressure earlier this year , is accused of ordering police officers to use live ammunition to kill protesters on January 25 in Cairo 's Tahrir Square . The former president could be executed if he is convicted of ordering killings , Egyptian Justice Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz al-Juindy has said . El Deeb has said Mubarak is `` very sad and sorry '' about the allegations , but has no regrets and denies giving any kind of authorization to fire on demonstrators . Mubarak has been held in Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital in the Red Sea resort community since mid-April after complaining of heart palpitations . Egyptian prosecutors said earlier this month that the former leader is too ill for transfer to a prison hospital in Tora , concluding that the hospital can not accommodate Mubarak 's needs . El Deeb revealed Monday that Mubarak underwent major surgery in June 2010 at a German hospital . Dr. Markus Wolfgang Buchler removed parts of Mubarak 's pancreas , gall bladder and a growth on his small intestines . That operation was kept secret , with even top government aides unaware of the procedure , El Deeb said . Buchler , chairman of the surgery department at a hospital in Heidelberg , said Mubarak should receive a comprehensive follow-up every four months for two years after the surgery . `` But the follow-up was completely ignored , '' El Deeb said . According to the general prosecutor , six doctors affiliated with Egypt 's military were dispatched to see Mubarak at the Sharm el-Sheikh hospital and released a report on May 24 . A week later , on June 1 , Egyptian prosecutors released a statement that said Mubarak had repeated irregular heartbeats that , combined with low blood pressure and an `` instant drop in blood circulation in the brain ... leads to instant unconsciousness . '' The report also found the former president had an increased risk of heart attack and suffered from depression , fatigue and muscle weakness . Dr. Mohamed El Deeb , a member of the presidential palace medical team who had accompanied Mubarak to Germany for his surgery , asked Buchler if he would visit Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh . And the family lawyer , also named El Deeb but no relation to the doctor , said he submitted an official request Thursday asking for permission for the German surgeon to check on Mubarak . Prosecutors forwarded the request to Mohammed Tantawi , head of the ruling military council , `` but we have not heard back from them yet , '' said El Deeb , the lawyer . Egypt 's ruler for 30 years , Mubarak stepped down February 11 after an 18-day uprising in which pro-democracy protesters demanded a change in government and reforms . He and his family have been under investigation since the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and Prime Minister Essam Sharaf 's caretaker cabinet took over . Mubarak 's sons , Gama and Alaa , are accused of acquiring property at below-market prices , El Deeb said . They face charges of illegal gains and corruption , said Adel Saeed , a spokesman for Egypt 's general prosecutor . All three are scheduled to be tried at Cairo Criminal Court on August 3 , Saeed said . Aly Hassan , a judicial analyst affiliated with Egypt 's justice ministry , recently said Egyptian courts can proceed with a trial even if a defendant is in poor health . `` In previous cases , suspects appeared in court with life-support machines , so Mubarak 's health does not mean he is paralyzed , '' Hassan said . `` If he has heart problems and doctors indicate improvement , then he can appear in court for several hours . ''
NEW : Mubarak 's lawyer has requested a German doctor be allowed to visit him . Lawyer Farid El Deeb says Hosni Mubarak had major surgery in June 2010 . He is now recovering at the hospital, but he needs more time for his recovery and rehabilitation. Doctors say he has a host of problems , but an expert says the trial should go on .