Egypt's former president Mohamed Mursi has died in court: Public prosecutor

Former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi died on Monday after he collapsed in a defendants' cage after speaking in court, Egypt's public prosecutor said.

He added that the former leader, 67, was pronounced dead at 4:50 pm CET in the hospital. A medical report done on Mursi's body showed no signs of recent injuries.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist organisation Mursi belonged to and which is now considered by the state to be a terrorist organisation, said in a statement that its former leader's death is "full-fledged murder" and called for masses to attend the funeral.

"Neither the shock of the news nor the haste in spreading information about the details of (Mursi's) death will change the features of this full-fledged murder," the Islamist group said in a statement on its website.

Mursi, Egypt's first democratically-elected president, was toppled by the military in 2013 after mass protests against this rule.

State television said he was in court for a hearing on charges of espionage emanating from suspected contacts with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

The ousted leader was serving a 20-year prison sentence for a conviction arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012 and a life sentence for espionage in a case related to Qatar.

Mursi's troubled one-year presidency

Mursi, a civil engineer with a doctorate from the University of Southern California, grew up in a village in the Nile Delta province of Sharqiya.

He was propelled to power after the Muslim Brotherhood won an election following a popular uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Mursi promised a moderate Islamist agenda to steer Egypt into a new democratic era where autocracy would be replaced by a transparent government that respected human rights.

He told Egyptians he would deliver an "Egyptian renaissance with an Islamic foundation".

But when he got to power, Mursi made the tactical mistake in Egyptian politics of antagonising the military. The army chief appointed by Mursi, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, eventually turned on him.

When mass discontent spilt out to the streets, Sisi adviced Mursi to make compromises with his political opponents, which he refused and instead reached out mainly to other Islamists.

A youth movement called Tamarud, which means "rebellion" in Arabic started a petition for Mursi to step down. Eventually, millions took to the streets demanding that he leave.

People accused him of usurping powers, imposing the Brotherhood's conservative brand of Islam and mismanaging the economy, all of which he denied.

On July 3, 2013, Sisi appeared on television to announce the end of Mursi's troubled one year-presidency and plans for new elections.

A crackdown happened, which saw most of the Brotherhood's leaders put in jail. Sisi then took over the government, cementing his power and restoring the kind of military-backed government that Mursi had tried to break for good.

Poor health in jail

Mursi's lawyer said the former leader's health had been poor in jail. "We had put in several requests for treatment, some were accepted and others were not," the lawyer, Abdel-Menem Abdel-Maqsood, told Reuters.

Mursi's family had also previously said that his health had deteriorated in prison and that they were rarely allowed to visit.

His body was taken to the Toray prison hospital, state television reported.

Authorities refuse to bury Mursi in family cemetery

Egyptian authorities refused to have Mursi buried in the family cemetery, Mursi's son Abdullah Mohamed Mursi told Reuters on Monday.

The son said that Mursi's family did not know the location of his body and that their only contact with the authorities was through the family's lawyers.

"We know nothing about him and no one is in touch with us, and we don't know if we are going to wash him or say a prayer to him or not," Abdullah said.

"Putting doubts aside, he has become a martyr today with the fulfilment of God's order ... Our prayers are with him," Erdogan said.

"Condolences to all my brothers who walked the same path as he did. Condolences to the people of Egypt. Condolences to his family and those close to him."

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said Mursi had "served Egypt and the (Muslim) nation and the Palestinian cause".

Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, a backer of Mursi and his Brotherhood, tweeted his condolences to Mursi's family "and to the brotherly Egyptian people".

Amnesty International called on Egyptian authorities to launch a fair inquiry into the death of Mursi.

"We call on Egyptian authorities to conduct an impartial, thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances of Mursi's death, including his solitary confinement and isolation from the outside world," Amnesty tweeted in Arabic.

It also urged for an investigation into the medical care Mursi was receiving, and for anyone found responsible for mistreatment 

Egypt's former president Mohamed Mursi has died in court: Public prosecutor

Egypt's former president Mohamed Mursi has died in court: Public prosecutor Egypt's former president Mohamed Mursi collapsed in his cage after speaking in court, said Egypt's public prosec...