Brotherhood leader: Ashton met with Morsi for humanitarian reasons

Mohamed Ali Beshr, a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood and the former minister of local development, told privately owned Al-Watan newspaper that the Brotherhood did not request that the European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton visit deposed President Mohamed Morsi, who has been held incommunicado by the Armed Forces since his ouster.

Her visit was based on humanitarian concerns, and nothing more, he said.

Beshr referred to Ashton’s comments during a press conference about Morsi not knowing his whereabouts. “This is what troubles the global conscience and world public opinion from the humanitarian point of view,” he said.

After her visit with the deposed president, Ashton said she was assured that his health is good and that he has access to newspapers and is aware of what is happening in the country.

Ashton also met with Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the minister of defense, Mohamed ElBaradei, vice president for foreign affairs, Nabil Fahmy, minister of foreign affairs, to speak to them about the details of the handover of power to elected civilian rule.

In addition, Ashton met with leading figures of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The National Association for Change expressed its dismay that Ashton was allowed to meet with the deposed president.

Responding to these criticisms, Beshr said, “we have our position and we are not waiting for any solutions from abroad. Solutions should come from us, and we as Egyptians should agree on those terms. And we are not waiting for Ashton or anyone else to solve our problems or to show us the way. But we did show her the truth, and we stand by that.”

He added, “we demanded the release of all detainees and the end of assaults on demonstrators, plus the opening of all channels that were shut down due to their support for us. These demands are based on human rights and legal constitutional rights.”

Beshr criticized journalists for staying silent regarding the closure of the channels, saying that should know that such a move goes against the rights of free media.

The period following removal of Morsi has witnessed a series of arrests and charges of murder and incitement against leading Brotherhood figures.