Egypt’s former president Mohamed Morsi has died suddenly following a court appearance in Cairo, according to Egyptian state television. He was 67.

The former president and Muslim Brotherhood leader collapsed after a trial session in an espionage lawsuit on Monday for alleged contact with Hamas. He had reportedly been given permission from the presiding judge to address the court before he fainted.

Morsi came to power after Hosni Mubarak was deposed in mass Arab Spring protests in 2011. However, he ruled for only a year after being elected to the post before he was toppled by the military following mass protests in 2013.

He was serving lengthy sentences on convictions of killing protesters in 2012, espionage involving Qatar, and a jailbreak. Morsi was sentenced to death in 2015 for taking part in a mass jailbreak during Egypt’s uprising in 2011. However, the sentence was overturned late the following year.

Also on rt.com Court sentences Egypt’s ex-president Morsi to death over 2011 prison break

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the first to express his condolences following the news of “martyr” Morsi’s passing, tweeting about his “great sadness and sorrow” at hearing of “the death of my brother.”

ببالغ الحزن والأسى تلقيت نبأ وفاة أخي محمد مرسي أول رئيس منتخب ديمقراطيًا في مصر.أدعو بالرحمة للشهيد محمد مرسي أحد أكثر مناضلي الديمقراطية في التاريخ.إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون. pic.twitter.com/Bv1EgjT64W — رجب طيب أردوغان (@rterdogan_ar) June 17, 2019

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