Morsi family to take legal action against Sisi

Former President Mohamed Morsi’s family held their first news conference on Monday since his July 3 ouster, in which they held Armed Forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi responsible for his disappearance, and threatened to pursue international legal action.

Morsi’s whereabouts have remained unknown since he was removed from office.

 “We accuse Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his comrades who led this bloody coup of the abduction and forcible disappearance of an Egyptian citizen who is entitled to all his civil rights, in addition to being the legitimate elected president,” said Morsi’s son, Osama, during the news conference at the Engineers Syndicate.

The military has been holding Morsi in an undisclosed place since he was removed from office, despite international pressure for his release.

Acting as his father’s attorney since 2006, Osama says that he has been unable to find out the location of the former president, asserting that the office of the prosecutor general was also unaware of his whereabouts.

Interim presidential spokesperson Ahmed al-Moslemany had announced in a news conference last week that Morsi was in a safe place and receiving good treatment, but neglected to state where he was or why he was being detained.

Osama called his father’s detention a violation of the most basic human rights, denouncing earlier statements by the military spokesperson that Morsi was being held for his own safety. No law or constitution allows for this action, Osama asserted.

“This argument is the clearest proof that we are in an unconstitutional and non-civil state,” Osama said, adding that he would appeal to the international media, the United Nations and civil society forces. The Morsi family would begin immediately legal action on both the local and international level against Sisi, he declared.

The Armed Forces denied on Monday reports in the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper that Morsi had been sentenced to 15 days pending investigations of espionage charges.