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Murder claim in context and what you need to know about Mohamed Morsi

Following the death of the Former President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, news stories have been full of headlines quoting public figures who say he was murdered. A closer look at these claims, however, shows a claim different from headline depiction.

The world was shocked when the news of Morsi’s death broke out. Morsi, despite being the first democratically elected President of Egypt, was removed from office by a Coup which the US refused to call a Coup. He was in detention until the time of his death.

Speaking at a rally in Istanbul, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose statement has been reported to appear like Morsi was assassinated, actually said,

“Mohamed Morsi flailed on the courtroom floor for 20 minutes and the authorities did not help him. This is why I say Morsi did not die, he was murdered,

Erdogan, who himself had survived a Coup attempt, wants Egypt tried in International Court and is calling on the Organization of Islamic Countries to act.

Murder by Torture?

While Morsi suffered a comma in the process of addressing the Judge in his case, this was not the first time he had suffered same. During his close to 6 years stay in prison, Morsi had complained about how the authorities were ignoring his diabetes, liver and kidney disease. He had said his dose of insulin was given inadequately. This has been described by Human Rights Watch, quoted by Associated Press, as falling under the definition of torture.

The UN called for an independent investigation into Morsi’s death and his treatment in custody.

“We found that his detention could meet the threshold for torture in accordance Egyptian and international law. We found that the conditions of Dr Morsi’s detention would be of such continuing interest to the whole chain of command that the current president [the former army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi] could in principle be responsible for the crime of torture, which is a crime of universal jurisdiction.” Crispin Blunt, the former chair of the foreign affairs select committee in the UK parliament says.

Blunt had led an investigative team of British Parliament just last year and their finding was that the conditions Morsi was kept in detention can lead to “Premature death”. They also described the conditions as “cruel, inhumane and degrading” and confirmed that his disease and diabetes were not being treated. Other international observers have said that Morsi’s death was due to a “deliberately negligent medical care in prolonged solitary confinement”

This treatment has been extended to members of the Muslim Brotherhood by the Sisi led government. The US State Department says this includes “deliberate prolonged solitary confinement lasting almost six years in some cases, where prisoners are forbidden to leave their cells for more than an hour a day.” Brotherhood members and supporters have also been denied full access to legal assistance, visits from their families and medical treatment.

Abdulla Haddad, whose brother and father have been in detention for 6 years says

“My father has suffered four heart attacks and he urgently needs medical attention. My brother Gehad was detained and tortured. There are many others who are on the verge of death, and unless the international community speak out, many more will die, including my own father and brother.”

These are what you need to know about Morsi…

His early life…

  • Morsi was born August 8, 1951 in a village called El-adwah, Egypt

  • He obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cairo State University in 1975 and then completed his post-graduation in 1978. In 1982, he earned a Phd in materials science from the University of Southern California with his dissertion, “High-Temperature Electrical Conductivity and Defect Structure of Donor-Doped Al2O3”.

  • He returned to Egypt and joined politics, becoming a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1977

Career…

·         Morsi first lectured at the California State University, Northridge, and served as an Assistant Professor from 1982-1985.

·         He worked with NASA assisting to develop Space shuttle engines, being an expert on precision metal resources

  • He became a professor at Zagazig University, Egypt. There, he was appointed head of the engineering department where he served till 2010.

  • In the year 2000, the Mubarak regime technically barred the Muslim Brotherhood from running candidates for office. Hence, Morsi ran for office as an independent candidate and was elected as a Member of Parliament

  • He served as a member of the Guidance Office of the Muslim Brotherhood till 2011

  • Freedom and Justice party was founded in 2011. Morsi was elected to be the first President of the new party

  • In 2006, he spent seven months behind bars under Mubarak’s regime and arrested several times. In 2011, he was detained for a brief period along with some members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

  • With the disqualification of Khairat El-Shater, Morsi emerged as the new presidential candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood.

  • June 4, 2012, he was officially the President of Egypt being the first democratically elected President of Egypt.

  • In June 2013, there were protests calling for his removal. He was ousted as Egypt’s President by Egypt armed forces on July 3, 2013 and placed under house arrest.

  • He was succeeded by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

  • May 2015, Morsi was sentenced to death.

  • In 2016, Egypt retired 32 judges for opposing Morsi’s ouster

  • On the 17th of June, 2019, Morsi died after appearing in court

He was married to his cousin, Naglaa Ali Mahmoud. The couple has five children; a daughter, Shaima, and four sons, Ahmed, Osama, Omar and Abdullah.

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