Egypt’s ousted president Mohamed Morsi was buried this morning at a small family ceremony in Cairo after authorities refused permission for a burial in his home province of Sharqiya.

Morsi, who was deposed in a 2013 military coup after becoming the nation’s first democratically elected president, collapsed and died in court on Monday evening after suffering a fatal heart attack.

He was facing several long-running prosecutions stemming from his year-long reign.

The 67-year-old was buried at 5am on Tuesday next to the graves of other leaders of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The ceremony took place with just five family members in attendance.

“The state wants to avoid this becoming a catalyst for any kind of mobilisation,” said Tim Kaldas of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East politics. “That was the point of burying him so quickly, and in a place that’s harder to turn into a pilgrimage site.”