Advertisement

Ousted Egypt president Mohamed Morsi dies in court during trial

Egypt's first democratically elected president, Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi who was ousted by the military in 2013 after a year in office, collapsed in court while on trial on Monday and died, state TV and his family said.

The 67-year-old Morsi had just addressed the court, speaking from the glass cage he is kept in during sessions and warning that he had "many secrets" he could reveal, a judicial official said.

A few minutes later, he collapsed in the cage, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press.

In his final comments, he continued to insist he was Egypt's legitimate president, demanding a special tribunal, one of his defence lawyers, Kamel Madour told the Associated Press.

Ousted Egypt president Mohammed Morsi behind bars.
Morsi was ousted and detained in 2013. Source: AP

State TV said Morsi died before he could be taken to the hospital.

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood accused the government of "assassinating" him through years of poor prison conditions.

In a statement, the group demanded an international investigation into Morsi's death and called on Egyptians to protest outside Egypt's embassy across the world.

Morsi, who was known to have diabetes, had been imprisoned since his 2013 ousting, often in solitary confinement and barred from visitors — his family was allowed to visit only three times during that time.

Egypt's chief prosecutor said Morsi's body would be examined to determine the cause of his death.

It was a dramatic end for a figure who was central in the twists and turns taken by Egypt since its "revolution" — from the pro-democracy uprising that in 2011 ousted the country's longtime authoritarian leader, Hosni Mubarak, through controversial Islamist rule and now back to a tight grip under the domination of military men.

Ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi pictured in 2012.
Pictured as president in 2012. Source: AP

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful Islamist group, won the elections held after Mubarak's fall, considered the first free votes the country had seen. First, they gained a majority in parliament, then Morsi squeaked to victory in presidential elections held in 2012, becoming the first civilian to hold the office.

Morsi’s demise

Critics accused the Brotherhood of using violence against opponents and seeking to monopolise power and Islamize the state.

Massive protests grew against their rule, until the military — led by then-Defense Minister, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi — ousted Morsi in July 2013, dissolved parliament and eventually banned the Brotherhood as a "terrorist group."

El-Sissi was elected president and re-elected in 2018 in votes human rights groups sharply criticised as undemocratic. He has waged a ferocious crackdown that crushed the Brotherhood but also almost all other dissent, arresting tens of thousands, banning protests and silencing most criticism in the media.

Since being ousted, Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders have been put on multiple and lengthy trials.

Morsi was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of ordering Brotherhood members to break up a protest against him, resulting in deaths. Multiple cases are still pending. Monday's session was part of a retrial, held next to Cairo's Tora Prison, on charges of espionage with the Palestinian Hamas militant group.

Morsi was held in a special wing in Tora nicknamed Scorpion Prison. Rights groups say its conditions fall far below Egyptian and international standards.

Ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi at a rally prior to his election.
Morsi at a rally prior to his election. Source: AP

In contrast, Mubarak was allowed to stay in a military hospital during trials on various charges related to killing the protesters in a 2011 uprising — of which he was eventually cleared.

Morsi’s care scrutinised

Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director with the Human Rights Watch, said in a tweet that Morsi's death was "terrible but entirely predictable" given the government "failure to allow him adequate medical care, much less family visits."

Mohammed Sudan, leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in London, said Morsi was banned from receiving medicine or visits and there was little information about his health condition.

"This is premeditated murder. This is slow death," he said.

Freedom and Justice, the Brotherhood's political arm, said in a statement on its Facebook page that prison conditions led to Morsi's death in what amounted to "assassination."

The judicial official said Morsi had asked to speak to the court during Monday's session. The judge permitted it, and Morsi gave a speech saying he had "many secrets" that, if he told them, he would be released, but he added that he wasn't telling them because it would harm Egypt's national security.

Madour, the defence lawyer, said Morsi spoke for around five minutes, "very calm and organised," before collapsing inside the cage.

A spokesman for the Interior Ministry did not answer calls seeking comment.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.