Egyptian Prosecutor General's Office Orders Probe Into Death Of Former President Morsi

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2019) Egyptian Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement on Monday it had ordered its employees to establish the causes of death of former President Mohammed Morsi, who died earlier in the day.

Morsi, 67, who was removed from power in 2013, reportedly suffered a heart attack and died on Monday in Cairo during a court session in an espionage case.

"Prosecutor General Nabil Sadek ordered a team of employees of the prosecutor general's office, as well as state security prosecutor's office, to inspect the body of deceased Mohammed Morsi," the statement says.

According to the statement, Morsi suddenly fell and lost consciousness in a defendants' cage in the courtroom during a break between sessions. A few minutes prior to that, the former president made a five-minute speech before the judge. The politician was taken to a hospital, where his death was registered. An external examination showed no damage to his body.

An uprising on January 25, 2011, unseated Egypt's longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. Morsi, who was nominated by the Muslim Brotherhood (a terrorist organization, banned in Russia), won the presidential election in June 2012.

In July 2013, amid a wave of popular discontent caused by the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, Morsi was removed from power and a transitional period was announced in the country. Morsi's supporters held mass protests demanding his return to the presidency. As a result of the riots and clashes that followed the protests, hundreds of Egyptians were killed.

Since Morsi was removed from power, five criminal cases were opened against him, including in connection with clashes near the presidential palace between his supporters and opposition in December 2012, espionage in favor of Qatar and Palestinian movement Hamas, his escape from prison during the 2011 mass riots and insulting the judiciary.