Former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has died in court, state television reported on Monday.

It said Morsi had fainted after a court session and died afterward.

According to an Al Arabiya correspondent, Morsi spoke for 20 minutes during the trial session and was agitated. He fainted in court and died while being rushed to the hospital.

The public prosecutor said he had collapsed in a defendants' cage in the courtroom shortly after speaking, and had been pronounced dead in hospital at 4:50 p.m. (1450 GMT).

A medical team examined the body of Mohamed Morsi and his family said they will take care of his burial.

The trial session of Mohamed Morsi was regarding a case involving espionage with Hamas, as well as his involvement in the Wadi al-Natrun prison break in 2011.

Egypt’s Public Prosecutor said a medical report showed no apparent recent injuries on the body of Mohamed Morsi.

Morsi, a top figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, was toppled by the military in 2013 after mass protests against this rule.

Morsi was serving a 20-year prison sentence for a conviction arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012, and a life sentence for espionage in a case related to the Gulf state of Qatar. He had denied the charges.

Security sources said the Interior Ministry had declared a state of alert on Monday, notably in Morsi’s home province of Sharqiya in the Nile Delta, where the body was expected to be taken for burial.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:55 - GMT 06:55