Tayyip Erdogan blames Egypt ‘tyrants’ for Morsi’s death

Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday blamed Egypt’s “tyrants” for the death of former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi who died in a Cairo hospital after fainting during a court session.

“History will never forget those tyrants who led to his death by putting him in jail and threatening him with execution,” Erdogan, a close ally of Morsi, said in a televised speech in Istanbul.

Erdogan, who had close ties to Morsi said, “May Allah have mercy on our brother, our martyr Morsi.”

Relations between Turkey and Egypt have been virtually non-existent since the Egyptian military, then led by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in 2013 ousted Islamist president Morsi. Sisi has since become president.

Erdogan has strongly denounced Morsi’s ouster as a “coup” and called for the release of Muslim Brotherhood prisoners in Egypt.

The Turkish leader described Morsi’s death as a “symbol of persecution targeting him and his people” and called the ex-president as a “martyr.” “In our eyes, Morsi is a martyr who lost his life for the sake of a case he believed in,” he said.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said: “The coup moved him (Morsi) away from the power but his memory will not be erased.” In an earlier comment, Erdogan took aim at Sisi, calling him a “tyrant” who took power in a “coup” and who has trampled on democracy.

The West has remained silent,” Erdogan said, accusing European Union member states of turning a blind eye to executions in Egypt. AFP