Deposed Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi said on Wednesday
he was kidnapped by the Republican Guard and then held at a naval base the day
before the military formally ousted him in July.
Few details had previously emerged on
Morsi's whereabouts since army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi overthrew him
and announced plans for elections. Lawyer Mohamed Damati read on television
what he said was a letter from the Islamist leader, who is still being
detained, to the Egyptian people.
For the first time, Morsi indicated
that he was held against his will as early as 2 July, a day before the army
announced his removal following mass protests against his rule.
"The kind Egyptian people should
know that I have been kidnapped forcibly and against my will since July 2 and
until July 5 in a Republican Guard house until I and my aide were moved again
forcibly to a naval base belonging to the armed forces for four full
months," Morsi was quoted as saying.
The Republican Guard is an elite
military unit which protects the presidential palace and other government
sites.
Morsi and other Islamists appeared in
court on 4 November on charges of inciting violence in connection with the
death of about a dozen protesters at the presidential palace in December. Most
were members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.
The letter marked the first time
outside the courtroom that authorities allowed Morsi, who accuses the army of
staging a coup, to tell his side of the story.
Rights and freedoms
"Egypt will not recover until
everything that happened due to this coup goes away and the holding to account
those who spilled blood everywhere on the nation's land," Morsi
said.
"I salute the Egyptian people who
rose up against this coup, which will fall by the power of the Egyptian people
in their jihad for the sake of their rights and freedoms."
If convicted, Morsi could face a life
sentence or the death penalty.
Security forces have mounted a
crackdown against the Brotherhood, which won every election held since a
popular uprising toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Hundreds have been
killed and thousands arrested, including the group's leaders. A court has
banned the organisation.
Morsi said that while in detention, he
had only met with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton, an EU
delegation and four prosecutors whose questions he refused to answer.
Damati said Morsi still refused to
recognise the court which is trying him at a police academy - the same site
where Mubarak is on trial on similar charges.
If convicted, Morsi could face a life
sentence or the death penalty.
-Reuters
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