Egypts ousted president collapses and dies during court trial
State TV said Mr Morsi died before he could be taken to hospital (Picture: AP) Egypts former presid..
Egypts former president Mohammed Morsi has collapsed in court during a trial and died, his family has confirmed.
The 67-year-old, who rose to office in the countrys first free elections in 2012 and was ousted a year later by the military, 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 afterwards he collapsed, the official said.
State TV said Mr Morsi died before he could be taken to hospital.
Mr Morsi has been in prison undergoing multiple trials ever since the military ousted him in July 2013 and launched a massive crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists.
Mondays session was part of a retrial, being held inside Cairos Tura Prison, on charges of espionage with the Palestinian Hamas militant group.
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Mr Morsis son Ahmed confirmed the death of his father in a Facebook post.
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Mohammed Sudan, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in London, described Mr Morsis death as premeditated murder, saying that the former president was banned from receiving medicine or visits and there was little information about his health condition.
He has been placed behind a glass cage (during trials). No-one can hear him or know what is happening to him, he said.
He hasnt received any visits for a months or nearly a year. He complained before that he doesnt get his medicine. This is premeditated murder. This is slow death.
The judicial official said Mr Morsi had asked to speak to the court during the session.
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The judge permitted it, and Mr Morsi gave a speech saying he had many secrets that, if he told them, he would be released, but he added that he was not telling them because it would harm Egypts national security.
Mr Morsi was a longtime senior figure in Egypts most powerful Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood.
He was elected in 2012 in the countrys first free presidential election, held a year after an Arab Spring uprising ousted Egypts longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak.
His Muslim Brotherhood also held a majority in parliament.