Death of Mohamed Morsi

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On Monday, June 17, 2019, Egyptian state television announced the death of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, the first civilian president elected in the Arab Republic of Egypt. The news came during his trial on charges of "espionage with the Palestinian Hamas movement," held at the Police Academy in the Tora Prison Complex. [1] [2] State television reported in a breaking news report that Morsi, 68, had asked the presiding judge to speak, who granted him permission before suffering a heart attack that led to his immediate death. [1] His lawyer stated that he was given the floor to speak for seven minutes from inside a glass cage, concluding with the words, "My country is dear even if it oppressed me and my people are honourable even if they were unjust to me." He then collapsed a minute after the session was adjourned, amid screams from those around him and signs that he had died. [3]

Contents

More than an hour after the death of Mohamed Morsi, the Public Prosecution issued a statement about the details of the death of the deposed president, stating that "During the session and following the defense of the 2nd and 3rd defendants, the deceased demanded to speak. The court allowed him to do so and he spoke for five minutes after which the court was adjourned for deliberation." Then it added: "he fainted and fell to the ground and was immediately taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead." [4]

Detention

During his years in prison, Morsi was in solitary confinement and was denied food and medicine from his family. In addition, he was denied access to the media, letters, and to communicate with the outside world. His wife and other family members were denied visits to him. In 2016, Morsi's son Abdullah told The New York Times that he feared that he would fall into a diabetic coma. [5] Morsi's lawyers stated that he was only allowed three family visits in six years. [6]

Findings from a report from the British parliamentary committee concluded that: [7]

Death

Egyptian TV statement

Egyptian state television announced in a breaking news report that he had fallen into a fainting spell during his "espionage" trial, resulting in his death. State television later added that Morsi's body had been transferred to the hospital for "necessary measures." [8] His final words were a verse from a poem that read "My country is dear even if it oppressed me and my people are honourable even if they were unjust to me". He collapsed a minute after the session ended. [9]

Public Prosecution Statement

The Egyptian Public Prosecution published in a two-page statement that Morsi had arrived in the hospital dead after collapsing in court. It also added there were no apparent injuries to Morsi's body. It also announced that it had seized all cameras in the courtroom and the defendants’ cage, and that it had assigned a higher forensic committee to prepare a report on the "cause of death." [10] [11]

Burial

Morsi was buried at dawn in Nasr City east of Cairo alongside other Muslim Brotherhood leaders on Tuesday, 18 June 2019. Only his lawyer and family attended his funeral under a heavy security presence. [12] His son Abdullah told Reuters that the government had turned down a request to bury him in his hometown. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Egypt's Mohammed Morsi: Ex-leader buried after court death". BBC News. 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
  2. ↑ "تقرير أممي: ظروف احتجاز مرسي "الوحشية" ربما سببت وفاته". Alhurra (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  3. ↑ Samaan, Magdy; Fox, Kara (17 June 2019). "Mohamed Morsy, ousted Egyptian president, dies in court". CNN . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  4. ↑ "Statement by the Public Prosecutor". Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  5. ↑ "Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's First Democratically Elected President, Dies". 17 June 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-06-17. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
  6. ↑ "Egypt Quietly Buries Former President Morsi, Muting Coverage of Death (Published 2019)". 2019-06-18. Archived from the original on 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
  7. ↑ "وفاة محمد مرسي: ماذا نعرف عن ظروف سجنه؟". BBC News Arabic (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
  8. ↑ "التلفزيون المصري: وفاة الرئيس الأسبق محمد مرسي خلال جلسة محاكمته". CNN Arabic (in Arabic). 2019-06-17. Archived from the original on 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
  9. ↑ Magdy Samaan; Kara Fox (17 June 2019). "Mohamed Morsy, ousted Egyptian president, dies in court". CNN . Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  10. ↑ "النائب العام المصري: مرسي وصل للمستشفى متوفيا وندب لجنة لفحص جثمانه". Al Jazeera Mubasher (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  11. ↑ "النيابة العامة المصرية: مرسي سقط أرضاً مغشياً عليه داخل القفص". An-Nahar . 2019-06-17. Archived from the original on 2019-06-17. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  12. ↑ "Egypt Quietly Buries Former President Morsi, Muting Coverage of Death (Published 2019)". 2019-06-18. Archived from the original on 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2025-09-12.
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