The US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), a conglomerate of major American Muslim civil-advocacy groups, Tuesday (June 18) joined international calls for an investigation into the death of the former President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo's kangaroo court.
In a statement, the USCMO said the "public" collapse and death of President Morsi in court in his soundproofed cage warrants suspicion beyond medical neglect. Consequently, USCMO calls for an independent forensic autopsy to determine President Morsi's actual cause of death.
The
USCMO recalled that last year President Morsi's youngest son, Abdullah, said in
an interview with Agence France-Presse that Egypt's ruling military junta was
withholding medical treatment for his political-prisoner father's chronic
illnesses, including
Malaysia, Qatar and Turkey have paid tribute to former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi who died in the court, but reaction from other governments has been largely muted.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday (June 18) attended a prayer service in Istanbul for Morsi.
Erdogan has denounced those who stood by as Morsi was "tortured" in prison. "I am condemning the Western world and humanity, who watched Morsi taken down in a coup and tortured in a prison cell," he told a rally in Istanbul.
While thousands joined in prayer in Istanbul, in the capital, Ankara, about 500 people prayed in a central street, halting traffic outside the Egyptian embassy.
Members of the Ankara crowd chanted: "Murderer Sisi, martyr Morsi" and held up banners reading "Putschists will be defeated", a reference to Morsi's overthrow.
Turkey's main opposition leader lashed out at the circumstances surrounding Morsi's burial, saying his party would have wished Morsi to be buried with a presidential ceremony.
"He lost his life in a courtroom. We wish God's mercy on him. We would have wished Mohamed Morsi to be buried with a presidential ceremony," Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People's Party (CHP) said.
"He was buried secretly, in a hurry, in the presence of only his family. I would like to express that I do not find this right in terms of our democracy, culture, beliefs and morals," Kilicdaroglu added.
Not surprisingly, the US-client regime of Field Marshal Abdul Fattah el-Sisi has blocked access to the websites of Anadolu Agency (AA) and Turkey's state television channel "TRT" on Tuesday.
A funeral prayer in absentia was held at the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Morsi. The funeral was held after isha, or the night prayers, at the mosque in occupied East Jerusalem's Old City.
UN rights office calls for 'transparent investigation'
The United Nations human rights office has called for a "prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation" into Morsi's death.
"Concerns have been raised regarding the conditions of Mr. Morsi's detention, including access to adequate medical care, as well as sufficient access to his lawyers and family, during his nearly six years in custody," Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Monday.
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