Ousted Egyptian president anticipated assassination

A former aide has told the BBC that just days before the military coup, ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, predicted that he could have been “murdered.”

Mohamed Hadara said that Morsi recognised the threats surrounding him and the threats to his own safety. He said that the president told him he feared an “assassination attempt.”

The aide said that after the coup had been carried out, public guard officers assured him that “he would not face any indignity or disrespect.”

Hadara said that not all Morsi’s team believed that the army would carry a coup until the army issued its 48 hour ultimatum.

He also said that a few days prior to the coup, a number of foreign diplomats proposed advice to push past the political deadlock. The president, he said, was ready to “offer the greatest concessions,” but that was clearly not enough.

Hadara said that prosecuting Morsi before a “moot court” was not that strange. He added, “It is likely that the army is ready to execute Morsi. If that happened, it would be an assassination of another name.”