Egypt ex-president Mursi dies after collapsing in court

Egypt’s state TV said the country’s former President Mohamed Mursi collapsed during a court session and died 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.

State television said Mursi, who was 67, was in court for a hearing on charges of espionage emanating from suspected contacts with the Palestinian group Hamas. Mursi was also 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 Qatar. Mursi and nearly all leaders of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood were detained after the military, then led by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, removed the former president in July 2013 amid a wave of street protests against his divisive, one-year rule. Mursi was elected in 2012, a year after a popular uprising toppled the 29-year regime of Hosni Mubarak.

His short time at the helm was defined by a much-criticised power grab in late 2012 when he issued a constitutional declaration that gave him far-reaching powers and gave his executive orders legal immunity. His rule was also characterised by what many Egyptians saw as a failure to be president for all Egyptians, showing blatant bias in favour of the Brotherhood and its supporters.