Morsi visited and investigated in prison

A delegation of lawyers visited ousted President Mohamed Morsi in Alexandria’s Borg al-Arab prison on Tuesday, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported, citing an Interior Ministry source. 

The delegation included Mohamed Selim al-Awa and Morsi's son Osama, who said that Morsi will be issuing a statement soon. 

These were Morsi’s first visits since his arrival at Borg al-Arab prison following the first hearing last week of his trial on charges of inciting murder at the Ettihadeya Presidential Palace in December 2012.

The state-run Al-Ahram portal cited one of the lawyers as saying that the delegation managed to convince Morsi that they would take over his defense. Morsi had refused to allow them to do so previously, saying it would legitimize a trial that he considers as void, since he still sees himself as president.  

According to the source, who remained anonymous, Morsi accepted a defense panel that includes Awa, as well as lawyers Mohamed al-Damaty, Mohamad Tosson and Osama al-Helw. 

He also had a long interrogation session with investigation judge Hassan Samir, who decided to extend the ousted president's detention, the privately-owned Al-Shorouk reported. 

Morsi informed the lawyers, according to Al-Ahram's source, that he had told the investigators that in December 2012 he contacted the Minister of Interior, then Ahmad Gamal Eddin, and asked him to intervene in order to stop clashes between his supporters and their opponents in front of the palace, which left at least 10 people dead. Morsi added that the minister didn't cooperate. 

Morsi is also being investigated in relation to prison breaks during the January 25 revolution. He is accused of plotting with Gaza’s Hamas to facilitate the storming of Egyptian prisons and freeing Hamas detainees in 2011. 

The newspaper reported that the investigators showed Morsi minutes from a Muslim Brotherhood Guidance Bureau meeting that prove his encounters with the Hamas leadership, including one meeting after his election to the presidency with Hamas head Ismail Haniya.

Other evidence found by the investigators, according to Al-Shorouk, include an alleged visit by Morsi to Gaza before the eruption of the January 25 revolution. 

Morsi was reported as rejecting all the accusations, calling them illegal because he is Egypt’s legitimate president. 

Morsi was arrested along with 24 other Brotherhood leaders on January 28 2011, but escaped three days later from Wadi al-Natrun Prison.