Morsi speaks out

On July 24, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, minster of defense and commander-in-chief gave a speech to the public giving his account of what happened behind the scenes with former President Mohamed Morsi and about his own role in the removal of Morsi on July 3 following mass protests against his rule. Sisi claimed that Morsi had repeatedly ignored his advice on how to respond to rising public anger.

On Wednesday, Morsi responded. In a speech read by his lawyer Mohamed al-Dammati at a press conference, the former president described his ouster as a military coup and “what Sisi did was treason that went against the Armed Forces own principles as it led to a division among the Egyptian people and the involvement of the military in politics.”

Morsi, who is detained over charges including espionage and inciting violence and the killing of protesters, added that the blood that has been shed since June 30 “will not be forgiven by the martyrs’ families until there is retribution.”

The clearing on August 14 of sit-ins at Rabea al-Adaweya and Nahda Square calling for Morsi’s reinstatement resulted in the deaths of more than 1000 Morsi supporters and over 120 from the police.

Morsi said that he will mobilize the anger around his ouster to continue the battle with the military-backed regime. Directly addressing his supporters, the former president said, “I thank the people for their persistence and their revolutionary feelings, and I assure them that the coup will meet its end soon.”