Egypt’s former President Mohamed Morsi has died after appearing in court, according to state media.
The 67-year-old died after fainting during a court session in Egypt’s capital, Cairo, on Monday, state TV reported.
“He was speaking before the judge for 20 minutes then became very animated and fainted. He was quickly rushed to the hospital where he later died,” a judicial source said.
Morsi became Egypt’s first democratically elected president in 2012 after the Arab Spring uprising of the previous year saw the end of President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule. He was then deposed following mass protests and a military coup in July 2013.
Moris served just one year of a four-year term, while the organisation to which he belonged, the Muslim Brotherhood, has since been outlawed.
The Cairo Criminal Court had adjourned the trial of Morsi and 23 others in the case of “collaborating with Hamas” for tomorrow.
In November 2016, the Court of Cassation scrapped the life imprisonment sentence for Morsi and 21 other defendants, including some who had received the death penalty, in the same case, and ordered a retrial.
Morsi, who was facing at least six trials, had been behind bars for six years and was serving a 20-year prison sentence for a conviction arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012. He was also serving a life sentence for espionage in a case related to the Gulf state of Qatar.
The other charges against the former leader include jailbreak, insulting the judiciary and involvement in terrorism.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the first world leader to pay tribute to Morsi, calling him a “martyr.”
“May Allah rest our brother Morsi, our martyr’s soul in peace,” said Erdogan, who had forged close ties with late former president. (ALJAZEERA.com)
More to follow…
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