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Morsi, did he die or was he assassinated?

June 21, 2019 at 3:42 am

Egypt’s ousted president Mohamed Morsi, wearing an orange uniform while in prison, 8 June 2017 [Anadolu Agency/Facebook]

The Egyptian state TV announced, Monday, the death of the former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi during the trial on espionage with Hamas. It reported that he asked the judge to speak, he spoke for 20 minutes and then raised his head and fell unconscious and passed away.

In fact, Morsi’s real death was in 2013, Dr Amira abo el-Fetouh argues when he was removed through a military coup and was sent to prison. The death of the first-ever freely elected Egyptian president was when his legitimacy was killed and the will of millions of Egyptians  – who were happy that Egypt ended a military dictatorship – died.

Since the time when he was ousted, the military has been looking for a way to get rid of him, because his being alive ment that he remained the legitimate leader of the country in the eyes of millions who elected him. In addition, he would remain a symbol for free Egypt as long as he is alive because he was freely elected and unleashed the reign for all freedoms during the one year he was in office. Therefore, I believe he did not die but was assassinated.

Regardless to the solitary confinement, psychological and physical torture under which tens of Muslim Brotherhood members and leaders perished, and the intentional medical negligence for an old man who suffered from kidney failure, diabetes and hypertension, there are many other pieces of evidence that suggest he was assassinated.

READ: What is the secret briefcase that Morsi talked about right before his death?

The judiciary claimed he spoke for about 20 minutes and then raised his head and collapsed and State TV reported claims that he had received proper medical treatment during his detention and when he was in the courtroom. How can the Egyptian authorities prove their claims? Why do the Egyptian authorities not release documents about the history of his medical tests and follow up and the footage of his last moments when he was in the court?

Someone might say that the authorities might release footage of him from previous hearings, but this could be judged by an impartial international investigative committee. Would Egyptian authorities accept an international investigation committee to probe his death and access such footage?

A spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Rupert Colville said: “Any sudden death in custody must be followed by a prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation carried out by an independent body to clarify the cause of death.”

Former Egypt President Morsi dies in court - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

Former Egypt President Morsi dies in court – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

If Morsi was not assassinated, why did the Egyptian authorities not release his body to be seen by his relatives and the public? Why did they insist that he must be buried in the dark? If they claimed they did so in order to undermine any massive funeral which could turn violent or trigger a wave of protests against the leader of the military coup in the country, I say that putting off the funeral for a couple of days until the body is seen by the family and loved ones or allowed to be buried in the family grave would not cause a problem as long as the military services are in control of all the alleyways across the country and even have given directions to the Imams not to perform the funeral prayer at the mosques.

WATCH: Tunisia’s ex-president cries over Morsi’s death

Why did the Egyptian authorities not let professionals perform an autopsy to the body in order to identify the real reason for his death? If they are sure they did not assassinate him, the findings of the autopsy would let people trust their narrative and would quell any potential plan to protest against them.

Then, I do not believe it is a mere coincidence that he died on the anniversary of the same day he was elected president. On 16 and 17 June 2012, the Egyptians voted for him and on 17 June 2019 he died. No, this is a significant reason to doubt the claim of natural death.

Another suggestion that he was assassinated is the lesson which the Egyptian coup regime wanted to teach to the people who plan to fulfil the dreams of the Egyptians about having a free country run by a civil ruler that this is his end.

Head of Egyptian Institute for Studies Amro Darraj told Al-Jazeera TV on Monday that Morsi did not die, but was assassinated by the military because they knew that the international community would not seek justice against him. I say, the military assassinated Morsi because the international community which demonise Islam, Muslims and Muslim Brotherhood had encouraged them to.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.