Former Egyptian president dies at trial

In a strange end to the events that began in 2013, Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s former president who was ousted by a military coup, has died during his own trial on Monday.

Morsi was kept within a soundproof glass cage at the trial, and collapsed after addressing the court on the espionage charges of which he was accused. He was pronounced dead after being taken to a local hospital.

While the Egyptian prosecutor reported no signs of injuries related to Morsi’s death were found, the question immediately rose whether Morsi’s treatment at the hands of the government that imprisoned him was to blame.

Morsi had a history of poor health, including diabetes and hypertension, and human rights group Amnesty International has stated that he was denied access to a doctor while imprisoned.

A British parliamentary report last year claimed Morsi was kept in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day, which would equate to torture on top of the neglect.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the group Morsi was once affiliated with and which the current Egyptian government designates as terrorists, denounced Morsi’s death as an effective assassination.