VILNIUS --- Hours after being stripped of the presidency, Rolandas Paksas was rushed to the hospital for emergency care.
Following a final meeting with his advisers, Paksas was taken to the intensive cardiac unit of Vilnius University Hospital's Santariskes Clinic, where he will remain until Wednesday or Thursday.Health Minister Juozas Olekas has told the BNS news agency that Paksas, who was removed from office after the Seimas (Lithuania's parliament) voted Tuesday afternoon that he had violated the constitution on three counts, was suffering from high blood pressure.According to Olekas, after he is released from the clinic, Paksas will continue to receive outpatient care.While details Paksas' illness remain shady at best, key aides have told journalists that the former president was noticeably ill on Tuesday following the vote. After meeting with advisers, Paksas left the Presidential Palace with Vitale Vinickiene, his former health care adviser.No official comment from Paksas' former circle of aides or from the former president himself has been issued.
