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Egypt’s ousted president Mohammed Morsi dies in court while facing trial

FILE - In this June 21, 2015 file photo, former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, wearing a red jumpsuit that designates he has been sentenced to death, raises his hands inside a defendants cage in a makeshift courtroom at the national police academy, in an eastern suburb of Cairo, Egypt. On Monday, June 17, 2019, Egypt's state TV said that the country's ousted President Mohammed Morsi has collapsed during a court session and died. (AP Photo/Ahmed Omar, File)




The Brotherhood accused the government of "assassinating" Morsi through years of poor prison conditions. Morsi, who was known to have diabetes, had been imprisoned since his 2013 ouster, 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.

Morsi's 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.



Since his ouster, 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 inside Cairo's Tora Prison, on charges of espionage with the Palestinian Hamas militant group.


In contrast, Mubarak was allowed to stay in a military hospital during trials on various charges — of which he was eventually cleared and allowed free.

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."


"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 defense lawyer, said Morsi spoke for around five minutes, "very calm and organized," before collapsing inside the cage.





As protests grew, the military stepped in. Critics called the move a coup, but el-Sissi's supporters call it a popularly backed move.


Throughout his trials, Morsi insisted he remained Egypt's legitimate president. In early court sessions he gave angry speeches until judges ordered him kept in a glass cage during sessions where they could turn off his audio.

In audio leaked from a 2017 session of one of his trials, Morsi complained that he was "completely isolated" from the court, unable to see or hear his defense team, his eyes pained by lighting inside the cage.

"I don't know where I am," he is heard saying in the audio. "It's steel behind steel and glass behind glass. The reflection of my image makes me dizzy."


AP correspondents Sarah El Deeb in Beirut and Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report.

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