Morsi urges Egyptians 'to break military coup'
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E-mail Xinhua, November 13, 2013
Ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi called on Egyptians to break what he called "a military coup, " state-run al-Ahram quoted Morsi's lawyer as saying on Wednesday.
"What happened was a military coup, a crime and treachery against the presidential oath," Mohamed al-Damaty, a lawyer and the spokesman for a defense delegation for the former president, said at a press conference.
In his detention in Borg al-Arab prison in Alexandria, Morsi told his visiting defense team on Tuesday that he was held against his will as early as July 2.
The visiting delegation included four lawyers and the visit lasted for two hours, the lawyer added.
The ousted president said he was abducted on July 2 and taken to the Republic Guards Headquarters, and then was transferred to a naval base on July 5 with his two aides, according to the lawyer's statement published on the official website of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party.
In his message to the public, Morsi refused all the efforts to topple him, claiming they were void and violated the constitution.
He added that he was only able to meet with European Union Foreign Policy Representative Catherine Ashton, the African Union' s Panel of the Wise, and four prosecutors whose questions he refused to answer during his four-month detention.
Morsi was ousted from power by the armed forces on July 3 in response to the massive protests against his one-year rule on June 30.
Al-Damaty said Morsi did not name a lawyer to defend him instead he quoted him as saying: "It is too early and the time isn 't suitable to talk about this, and I adhere to legitimacy."
Morsi added "Egypt won't recover or regain its strength unless it gets rid of the coup and removing all its consequences in all fields, and by holding all responsible for shedding the Egyptians' blood accountable."
Morsi is currently in prison facing trial over his alleged involvement in the death of protesters outside the presidential palace in 2012 which killed at least nine people. His trial was postponed till Jan. 8 next year.
"I salute the Egyptian people who rose up against this coup, which will fall by the power of the Egyptian people in their jihad (holy war) for the sake of their rights and freedoms," Morsi added in his message.
Security forces violently dispersed the two main pro-Morsi sit- ins in mid-August killing hundreds and wounding thousands. More than 2,000 Islamists and the Brotherhood members and leaders have been arrested on charges of inciting violence since Morsi's ouster.
On Wednesday, another court set a trial on Dec. 23 for Morsi over charges of corruption related to his Islamic renaissance project, a project he repeatedly referred to during his presidential campaign, which outlined the country's economic problems.
The first session of Morsi's trial for killing protesters was held in the Police Academy in a western suburb in Cairo; the same court his predecessor former President Hosni Mubarak was tried. Morsi if convicted could face a life sentence in prison or the death penalty.
Politicians say Morsi's message valueless
In a swift response to Morsi's message, political groups in opposition to the Islamist stated: "The letter is valueless," adding that the former president "has lost his constitutional and legal legitimacy."
Mohamed Abu-el Ghar, chief of the Democratic Egyptian Party said Morsi's call for Egyptians to reverse what happened on July 3 is useless, arguing that if Morsi had responded to the protests' demands for early presidential elections, Egypt could have taken a better democratic path.
Whaid Abdel Maguid, the assistant general secretary for the main opposition bloc National Salvation Front, told Xinhua that " Morsi still lives in the illusion that he is the legitimate president, but Morsi politically has finished."
He added Morsi's letter would not influence the street nor lead to mass protests as many of his supporters have lost their power to mobilize amid the ongoing government crackdown on Brotherhood members and Islamists.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Adel, coordinator for Youth Defending for Legitimacy said that the supporters of Morsi will not stop calling for his reinstatement, and that the citizens both Islamists and Liberals will not allow the country to be controlled by the military again, referring to the transitional period the country endured under the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in 2011.
Adel added despite the harsh crackdown and continuing detention of the Islamists, Morsi supporters will continue to dissent.
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