Morsi warns of Egypt instability without reinstatement

[Bombay]

Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi has warned the country cannot be stable until he is returned to power.

In a statement read out by lawyers who met him in prison, he said he had been kidnapped and held against his will since the military deposed him in July.

He also denounced as illegitimate the court that is trying him on charges of inciting murder and violence.

Mr Morsi refused to name any lawyers to defend him in the trial, which has been adjourned until 8 January.

He is one of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members to have been detained over the past four months in a crackdown the interim authorities have portrayed as a struggle against "terrorism".

Hundreds of people have also been killed in clashes with security forces.

On Monday, the government said it would be lifting the state of emergency and curfew imposed in August to limit protests.


However, security will be bolstered in city centres and on main roads, and activists expect the introduction of a new law giving police the power to ban demonstrations outright.

'Legal measures'
Mr Morsi was moved to a regular prison last week after the first session of his trial on charges of incitement, in connection with the violence outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo in December 2012.

At a meeting with a team of lawyers from the Brotherhood and other allied groups on Tuesday, he dictated a "message to the Egyptian people".

"The coup has begun to fall apart and will topple in the face of the steadfastness of the Egyptian people," the lawyers quoted the statement as saying on Wednesday.

Mr Morsi accused armed forces chief Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, who announced the overthrow of the president following days of mass opposition protests, of "treason against God" and "treason against the whole nation by driving a wedge among the people of Egypt".

Egypt would not regain its stability until "the military coup is eliminated and those responsible for shedding Egyptians' blood are held accountable", he warned.

Brotherhood lawyer Mohammed al-Damati said Mr Morsi was still refusing to accept legal representation for his trial, insisting it was illegitimate.

"When we discussed the issue of naming a lawyer to defend him, he said that the time was too early to talk about this because he adheres to his legitimacy."

However, the lawyers would initiate "legal measures against the coup", Mr Damati said. These might include complaining to the prosecutor general that "what happened was a crime", or filing a suit at an administrative court alleging that Gen Sisi's moves were "null and void", he added.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24927100

[Bombay]

Former president Mohamed Morsi has described events since his ouster for the first time via a written statement.


"I now have a chance to explain what happened between 30 June and now. What happened was clearly a coup on all levels," Morsi wrote in a statement read by Mohamed El-Damaty at the Amal Party headquarters on Wednesday.

El-Damaty and other member of his co-defendants' defence team met with Morsi for over two hours on Tuesday.

Morsi and 14 other Islamist leaders are on trial for inciting violence against demonstrators in the December 2012 Ittihadiya presidential palace clashes.

"What happened is a crime and treason," Morsi said. "Treason to God and his prophet, and a breach of the oath sworn by Defence Minister [Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi] who pushed the army into politics ... It is also treason to the nation because it has divided the people."

He added: "Egypt will not regain its stability until the coup is overturned and those responsible for the bloodshed are held accountable."

Morsi said he was detained at the Republican Guard headquarters on 2 July – the day after he rejected a 48-hour ultimatum by the army to engage in dialogue with opposition groups – and held until 5 July, when he was transferred to a naval base.

At the naval base he met EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and an African Union delegation. He refused to answer "unconstitutional" questions by four investigators.

He denied meeting military officials or media personnel since his removal.

The defence team that met Morsi on Tuesday comprised of Mohamed Selim El-Awa, Mohamed Tosson, Mohamed El-Damaty, Osama El-Helw and Osama Mohamed Morsi.

El-Damaty said the meeting took place because Morsi is involved in the same trial as the defence team's clients, not for "political reasons."

Morsi reiterated his claim to be the country's legitimate president during the meeting, El-Damaty added.

During the opening trial session on 4 November, Morsi refused to recognise the court's authority and said he was still the country's true president.

Morsi is being detained at Borg Al-Arab Prison in a remote desert area near Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city, after his trial was adjourned to 8 January.

He was ousted from the presidency on 3 July.

On 11 November, a Cairo appeal court extended his detention for a further 30 days on separate charges of escaping from jail and espionage during the 2011 uprising.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/86352.aspx

[Bombay]

Nour Party says Morsi's statement 'unrealistic'

Nour says Mohamed Morsi, like the Muslim Brotherhood, lacks a realistic vision of the political situation in Egypt

Egypt's Salafist Nour Party described Wednesday deposed president Mohamed Morsi's first public statement since his 3 July ouster as "unrealistic."



Nour Party spokesman Sherif Taha told Al-Ahram Arabic news website that Morsi's statement, which lawyer Mohamed El-Damaty read at a press conference Wednesday, reflects "the absence of a realistic vision of the [current] situation."

Taha said that the content was not new and represents the same stance of the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi hails and which has been calling for his reinstatement since his ouster.

Morsi remained defiant in his statement, saying the army staged an illegitimate "coup" when it deposed him 3 July amid mass nationwide protests against his rule.

"What happened is a crime and treason," Morsi said. "Treason to God and his prophet, and a breach of the oath sworn by Defence Minister [Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi] who pushed the army into politics ... It is also treason to the nation because it has divided the people."

Morsi added: "Egypt will not regain its power until the coup is overturned and those responsible for the bloodshed are held accountable."

Security forces have staged a crackdown on Morsi supporters, arresting hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members and affiliates, mainly on charges of inciting violence. Pro-Morsi demonstrations often escalated into clashes with opponents or security forces. In August, police forcibly dispersed two large Cairo pro-Morsi sit-ins leaving hundreds dead.

Morsi is currently in jail pending trial, where he and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood members are accused of inciting to kill protesters during clashes at the Ittihadeya presidential palace in December 2012.

He is also currently being investigated on escaping from prison during the January 2011 revolution.

The Salafist Nour Party chose to be neutral during the 30 June protests that were calling for Morsi's removal from power. After his ouster, Nour said it accepted the interim roadmap announced by the army.

The party, currently Egypt's second largest Islamic bloc after the Brotherhood, also sits on the 50-Member Committee tasked with amending the constitution. Tensions have arisen between the party and the committee on articles dealing with the Islamic identity of the state and the sources of legislation.

The committee is set to make public its final draft 3 December, ahead of a national referendum on the charter.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/86387.aspx

[Dusak]

I think that this mans med's need to be reduced.

[Bombay]

Or greatly increased.

[Dusak]

When someone is kidnapped a ransom is usually demanded. In this case it was paid, the people got their country back. So he should consider himself very lucky that they didn't have to start sending bits of him to his family.