Former Egyptian President Morsi Dies After Collapsing In Court

Daily Mail: Egypt's ousted hardline president Mohamed Morsi dies after collapsing in court during espionage trial - as fellow Muslim Brotherhood members declare it 'premeditated MURDER'

* The 67-year-old former president had been speaking to a judge for 20 minutes
* Morsi reportedly became 'very animated' before collapsing in front of onlookers
* He had been serving a seven-year sentence for falsifying election papers in 2012

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, has collapsed in court during a trial and died, state TV and his family said.

The 67-year-old had just addressed the court, speaking from the glass cage he is kept in during sessions and warning that he had "many secrets" he could reveal, a judicial official said.

A few minutes afterwards he collapsed, the official said.

State TV said Mr Morsi died before he could be taken to hospital.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: He was Egypt's first democratically elected leader, but I will always remember his rule as a period in which Islamist radicals were unhindered in their attacks against Coptic churches and institutions.

More News On The Death Of Former Egyptian President Morsi

Egypt TV says ousted president Morsi dies in court -- AP
Egypt's ousted Islamist president Mursi dies after court hearing -- Reuters
Egypt's ousted president Morsi dies after collapsing in court -- France 24
Egypt's ex-President Mohamed Morsi dies after court appearance -- Al Jazeera
Egypt's former President Mohammed Morsi dies in court -- DW
Egypt's ousted president Mohammed Morsi dies during trial -- BBC
Mohamed Morsi, ousted president of Egypt, dies in court -- The Guardian
Mohamed Morsi's death: World reaction -- Al Jazeera

Former Egyptian President Morsi Has Been Sentenced To Death

Al Jazeera: Egypt sentences Mohamed Morsi to death

Verdict against former president sent to Grand Mufti for confirmation after he is convicted for 2011 mass prison break.

An Egypt court has sentenced former President Mohamed Morsi to death for a mass prison break in 2011, prompting immediate condemnations from Amnesty International and the Turkish President.

The court ruled on Saturday that the sentencing of Morsi and 105 others will be referred to the Grand Mufti, the highest religious authority in Egypt, for confirmation. Many of those sentenced were tried in absentia.

The court will pronounce its final decision on June 2.

WNU Editor: I have trouble seeing the Egyptian court and government approving the execution of a former Egyptian President. Then again .... when one looks at what is happening in the Middle East .... nothing should surprise us.

More News On Former Egyptian President Morsi Being Sentenced To Death

Egypt’s deposed president Morsi sentenced to death -- France 24/AFP
Egyptian Court Sentences Ousted President Morsi to Death -- NYT
Ex-Egyptian leader Morsi sentenced to death for conspiring in jailbreak -- Washington Post
Deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi Sentenced to Death -- WSJ
Ousted Egypt President Mohammed Morsi sentenced to death -- Deutsche Welle
Mohamed Morsi sentenced to death by Egyptian court -- The Guardian

Egypt's Ex-President Morsi Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison

Ahram Online: Egypt's ex-president Morsi sentenced to 20 years in prison

This is the first verdict issued against Mohamed Morsi since his ouster in summer 2013

Egypt's ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for inciting a show of force and violence, arresting protesters and physically abusing them, outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace in December 2012.

Twelve other defendants, including Muslim Brotherhood leading figures Mohamed El-Beltagy and Essam El-Erian, and ex-presidential aides, also received twenty-year sentences on the same charges. Ali Gamal Saber and Abdel-Hakim Abdel-Rahman received ten-year sentences.

More News On Egypt's Ex-President Morsi Being Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison

Court sentences ousted Egypt president to 20 years in prison -- AP
Former Egyptian president Mursi jailed for 20 years -- Reuters
Egypt's Morsi jailed for 20 years over protester deaths -- AFP
Egypt's Morsi Sentenced to 20 Years -- VOA
Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy sentenced to 20 years -- CNN
Egypt's Morsi sentenced to 20 years in prison -- Al Jazeera
Egypt's former president Mohammed Morsi is sentenced to 20 years for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters in 2012 -- Daily Mail
Why Islamist President Morsi was sentenced to 20 years in prison -- Maggie Michael, CSM/AP

Trial Begins For Egypt's Toppled President Morsi

'I'm The President - Who Are You?' Toppled Egyptian Leader Morsi Addresses Judge At Start Of His Trial For Escaping Prison In 2011 During Uprising Against Mubarak -- Daily Mail

* Ex-president Mohamed Morsi appeared in court on prison break charges
* Standing in metal cage, he shouted at a judge: 'Who are you? Tell me!'
* Morsi was among 22 defendants to appear at makeshift courtroom in Cairo
* More than 20,000 prisoners escaped from jail during uprising against dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011
* Comes amid deadly wave of violent attacks on Egyptian security officials
* Trial has been adjourned until February 22

Egypt's toppled president shouted angrily at a judge today as he appeared in court on charges of breaking out of prison in 2011.

Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted by the army in July, went on trial at a makeshift courtroom in a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo.

Dressed in a white prison uniform, he paced back and forth in a glass-encased metal cage, before shouting at the judge: 'Who are you? Tell me!'

Read more ....

More News On The Trial Of Former Egyptian President Morsi

Egypt ex-President Morsi defiant at jailbreak trial -- BBC
Egypt's ousted president Morsi to trial judge: 'Tell me who you are!' -- NBC
Defiant Morsi declares himself Egypt’s ‘legitimate leader’ as trial gets underway -- New York Daily News/AP
Egypt silences ex-leader with soundproof box for court appearance -- Miami Herald/McClatchy news
Morsi tried for jailbreak as Egypt police general killed -- AFP

EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton: Ousted Egypt Leader Morsi In Good Health

Ousted Egypt Leader Morsi In Good Health, Says EU's Ashton -- BBC

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi is "well", but that she does not know where he is being held.

Baroness Ashton said she had two hours of "frank, in-depth" discussions with Mr Morsi on Monday, without giving further details of the conversation.

Mr Morsi had access to news and followed developments, she added.

She is the first foreign diplomat to meet Mr Morsi since he was detained after being overthrown on 3 July.

Lady Ashton's second visit to Egypt in 12 days comes after more than 70 Morsi supporters were killed in clashes with security forces on Saturday.

Read more ....

More News On EU's Ashton Comments That Ousted Egypt Leader Morsi Is In Good Health

European Union Official Says Ousted Egyptian Leader is Doing ‘Well’ -- New York Times
EU Envoy Urges Conciliation in Egypt After Meeting Mursi -- Bloomberg Businessweek
EU official meets Morsi as protests swell -- USA Today
EU's top diplomat says Egypt's Morsi doing 'well' -- AP
EU’S Ashton holds two-hour talks with Morsi -- Irish Times
EU's Ashton says Egypt's Morsi in good health, has access to news -- Xinhuanet
Egypt allows EU envoy to see deposed president -- Reuters
In Egypt, EU chief meets Morsi: Is there a solution on the horizon? -- Sara Miller Llana, Christian Science Monitor

Egypt's President Reviews His First Year In Office

Protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout slogans and hit the screen with their shoes as he speaks to the nation, in front of the Ministry of Defense in Cairo June 26, 2013. REUTERS-Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Morsi: Divisions Threaten To Paralyse Egypt -- Al Jazeera

Egyptian president reviews his first year in office and expresses concern over current political polarisation.

Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi has said that the polarised state of the country's politics was threatening democracy and could plunge the nation into chaos.

In an address to the nation from Cairo on Wednesday, he acknowledged that he made errors but also blamed unspecified "enemies of Egypt" for damaging the democratic system that sprung out of the uprising of 2011.

"Political polarisation and conflict has reached a stage that threatens our nascent democratic experience and threatens to put the whole nation in a state of paralysis and chaos," said Morsi.

"The enemies of Egypt have not spared effort in trying to sabotage the democratic experience," he added.

Read more ....

More News On Egyptian President Morsi's Speech Reviewing His First Year In Office

Egypt's President Morsi warns unrest risks paralysis -- BBC
Egypt's Leader Warns of 'Chaos' as Protests Loom -- Wall Street Journal
Morsi: Political division threatens Egypt's democracy -- NBC/Reuters
Mursi offers constitution change before protests -- Reuters
Egypt president defends 1st year in speech -- AP
Morsi Says Polarized Politics Threaten Democracy -- Voice of America
Mursi Says Reforms Needed Before Polarization Paralyzes Egypt -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Divisions could paralyse Egypt: Morsi -- The Australian
Morsi rails vs. Egypt 'enemies' -- Investors.com

Why The Unrest In Egypt Is Going To Get Worse

Why Won’t Morsi Back Down? Read His Resume -- New Republic

From the moment that tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets to protest President Mohamed Morsi’s power-grabbing constitutional declaration, western journalists largely assumed that Morsi would back down. From their vantage point, criticism of Morsi’s move from within his own government, threats of judicial strikes, and the sheer magnitude of popular anger could force Morsi, in the words of The New York Times, “to engage in the kind of give and take that democratic government requires.” So when Morsi met with judges on Monday evening and promised that his newly declared powers only applied to ill-defined “acts of sovereignty,” both the Times and The Washington Post reported that Morsi had accepted limits on his power.

Read more ....

My Comment: In all of my years of following global news and events .... I have never seen a hard-core Islamist back down .... and I can understand why they cannot .... because to do so would compromise their beliefs and in their commitment to God. In the case of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, it is easy to predict that he will not compromise .... because as far as he is concern, he is on a mission from God.