Egypt TV says ousted president Morsi dies in court

Cairo, June 17

Egypt’s state TV says the country’s ousted President Mohammed Morsi has collapsed during a court session and died.

The state TV says 67-year-old Morsi was attending a session on Monday in his trial on espionage charges when he blacked out and then died. His body was taken to a hospital, it said.

Morsi, who hailed from Egypt’s largest Islamist group, the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, was elected president in 2012 in the country’s first free elections following the ouster the year before of long-time leader Hosni Mubarak.

The military ousted Morsi in 2013 after massive protests and crushed the Brotherhood in a major crackdown, arresting Morsi and many others of the group’s leaders. — AP