Ousted former Egyptian Islamist president Mohamed Morsi died on Monday after he fainted in court following a hearing, state television reported.

Morsi, a top figure in the Muslim Brotherhood who was the first democratically elected president in Egypt's modern history, had been in jail since he was toppled by the military in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

State television said Morsi, who was 67, was in court for a hearing on charges of espionage emanating from suspected contacts with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Morsi was serving a 20-year prison sentence for a conviction arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012 and a life sentence for espionage in a case related to the Gulf state of Qatar. </s> Egyptian state TV reports that the former president collapsed during a court hearing. He was then rushed to a hospital in Cairo where he died.

“He was speaking before the judge for 20 minutes then became very animated and fainted,” a judicial source said. “He was quickly rushed to the hospital where he later died.”

Morsi served as President of Egypt from June 2012 but was ousted by a military coup in July 2013.

He was subsequently imprisoned and was standing trial on espionage charges. </s> Former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi has died in court, state television reported on Monday.

It said Mursi had fainted after a court session and died afterwards.

Mursi, a top figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, was toppled by the military in 2013 after mass protests against this rule. He had been serving a seven-year sentence for falsifying his candidacy application for the 2012 presidential race.

In March 2018, a panel of British politicians and lawyers warned that Morsi’s prison conditions were poor and could lead to his early death.

Morsi had also complained about being denied treatment for diabetes.

An engineer by profession, Morsi’s short time in office marked Egypt’s brief experiment with democracy. As analysts began to tout his tenure as a success for the Arab spring, the army struck effectively snatching the country back from civilian </s> Mohamed El-Shahed, AFP | Mohamed Morsi pictured in June 2016 during his trial on espionage charges at a court in Cairo.

Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically-elected president who was ousted by the military in 2013, has died after collapsing in court, state TV said on Monday.

Egypt's public broadcaster said the 67-year-old former president was attending a session in his trial on espionage charges when he blacked out and then died. His body was taken to a hospital, it said.

"He was speaking before the judge for 20 minutes then became very animated and fainted. He was quickly rushed to the hospital where he later died," a judicial source told AFP.

Morsi, who hailed from Egypt's largest Islamist group, the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, was elected president in 2012 in the country's first free elections following the ouster the year before of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.

The military ousted Morsi in 2013 after massive protests and crushed the Brotherhood in a deadly crackdown, arresting Morsi and many others of the group's leaders.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had forged close ties with Morsi, paid tribute to the former president, calling him a "martyr."

"May Allah rest our Morsi brother, our martyr's soul in peace," Erdogan said.

The Islamist leader had been in prison since his ouster, accused of spying for Iran, Qatar and militant groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He was also accused of plotting terror acts.

The years following Morsi's overthrow have seen a surge in bombings and shootings targeting security forces, particularly in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, a stronghold of the Islamic State group. </s> Egypt’s ousted president Mohammed Morsi collapsed and died in court on Monday during a court session, state TV said.

Morsi was the fifth president of Egypt from June 2012 until July 2013, when General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi removed him from office in the 2013 Egyptian coup d’état after the June 2013 Egyptian protests. </s> The former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, the first ever freely elected leader of the country, collapsed while on trial in a Cairo court today and died, sparking condemnation over his treatment during years in jail.

Morsi, 67, was elected after the Arab Spring uprisings and served for a year until 3 July 2013 when he was deposed in a military coup led by the then defence minister, and now president, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. He has been held in jail since his ousting.

During a trial on espionage charges today Morsi was granted permission to address the court in Cairo, which he did for 25 minutes from the cage in which he was held in, becoming emotional at times, before he said he felt tired and… </s> Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, collapsed in court and died Monday while facing trial, state television reported.

Morsi, 67, died of an apparent heart attack, according to Egyptian media reports. He had been imprisoned since 2013, when his elected government was overthrown in a military coup led by the country’s then military leader, Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, who is now president.

Morsi, a top leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood party, was on trial on a range of charges, including espionage and inciting violence.

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news </s> An Egyptian appeals court has overturned a death sentence handed down against ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsy in one of four trials since his 2013 overthrow, a judicial official said.

The Court of Cassation ordered that Morsy be retried on the charges of taking part in prison breaks and violence against policemen during the 2011 uprising which toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak.

Five co-defendants, including the supreme guide of the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, who also received death sentences in June 2015, will be retried too.

Nearly 100 others who were tried in absentia are unaffected by the appeals ruling.

Last month, the same appeals court upheld a 20-year jail sentence handed down against Morsy in April in a separate trial on charges of ordering the use of deadly force against protesters during his year in power.

Morsy has also been sentenced to life in prison in two other trials.

In one, he was convicted of spying for Iran, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

In the other, he was found guilty of stealing documents relating to national security and handing them over to Qatar, a longstanding supporter of the Brotherhood.

He was toppled by then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following mass street protests.

The Brotherhood has since been blacklisted and subjected to a crackdown that has killed hundreds of his supporters and jailed thousands. </s> Egypt’s former president, Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood leader who rose to office in the country’s first free elections in 2012 and was ousted a year later by the military, collapsed in court during a trial and died, state TV and his family said. State TV, citing a medical source, said Morsi died from a sudden heart attack, the Reuters news agency reports.

Morsi had been Egypt’s elected president following the death of Hosni Mubarak in 2012, but was deposed after a military coup in 2013 that installed General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi into power.

Egyptian state TV says the 67-year-old Morsi was attending a court session Monday in his trial on espionage charges when he blacked out and then died before he could be taken to a hospital. Morsi had just addressed the court, speaking from the glass cage he was kept in during sessions and warning that he had “many secrets” he could reveal, a judicial official said.

A few minutes afterward, he collapsed, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press. Morsi’s son, Ahmed, confirmed the death of his father in a Facebook post.

Morsi, a leader of Egypt’s largest Islamist group, the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, was elected president in 2012 in the country’s first free elections following the ouster the year before of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. The military ousted Morsi in 2013 after massive protests and crushed the Brotherhood in a major crackdown, arresting Morsi and many others of the group’s leaders. Morsi had been imprisoned since his arrest and was previously sentenced to death for his alleged role in a mass prison break that took place during the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak.

Mohammed Sudan, leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in London, described Morsi’s death as “premediated murder” saying that the former president was banned from receiving medicine or visits and there was little information about his health condition. Monday’s session was part of a retrial, being held inside Cairo’s Tura Prison, on charges of espionage with the Palestinian Hamas militant group.

“He has been placed behind glass cage (during trials). No one can hear him or know what is happening to him. He hasn’t received any visits for a months or nearly a year. He complained before that he doesn’t get his medicine. This is premediated murder. This is slow death.”

The judicial official said Morsi had asked to speak to the court during the session. The judge permitted it, and Morsi gave a speech saying he had “many secrets” that, if he told them, he would be released, but he added that he wasn’t telling them because it would harm Egypt’s national security. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry did not answer calls seeking comment.

Morsi, a leader of Egypt’s largest Islamist group, the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, was elected president in 2012 in the country’s first free elections following the ouster the year before of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. The military ousted Morsi in 2013 after massive protests and crushed the Brotherhood in a major crackdown, arresting Morsi and many others of the group’s leaders. Morsi had been imprisoned since his arrest and was previously sentenced to death for his alleged role in a mass prison break that took place during the 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak.

Mohammed Sudan, leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in London, described Morsi’s death as “premediated murder” saying that the former president was banned from receiving medicine or visits and there was little information about his health condition. Monday’s session was part of a retrial, being held inside Cairo’s Tura Prison, on charges of espionage with the Palestinian Hamas militant group.

“He has been placed behind glass cage (during trials). No one can hear him or know what is happening to him. He hasn’t received any visits for a months or nearly a year. He complained before that he doesn’t get his medicine. This is premediated murder. This is slow death.”

The judicial official said Morsi had asked to speak to the court during the session. The judge permitted it, and Morsi gave a speech saying he had “many secrets” that, if he told them, he would be released, but he added that he wasn’t telling them because it would harm Egypt’s national security. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry did not answer calls seeking comment.

He has been sentenced to 20 years after being convicted of ordering Brotherhood members to break up a protest against him, resulting in deaths. An earlier death sentence was overturned. Multiple cases are still pending.

Morsi was held in a special wing in the sprawling Tora detention complex nicknamed Scorpion Prison. Rights groups say its poor conditions fall far below Egyptian and international standards.
Former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted in a coup in 2013 and has been detained in jail since then, dies after fainting during an espionage court hearing.