Organization marks 2nd anniversary of death of Egypt's Mohamed Morsi

By Rana Jamous

ISTANBUL (AA) - An online conference kicked off Thursday to mark the second anniversary of the death of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi with prominent public figures from the Arab world taking part.

The conference was organized by the London-based Morsi Foundation for Democracy and included speeches from former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the grand imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Father Manuel Musallam, a member of the Defense Committee for Islamic and Christian Holy Sites in Palestine.

"We are here to convey the goals that [Morsi] lived and died for, and we are proud of his legacy," said Marzouki.

Speaking on behalf of Morsi's family, TV anchor Mohamed Helal said his family "receives the second anniversary of the martyrdom of the president [Morsi] at a time they received confirmation that his third son, Osama Morsi, was sentenced to 10 years in the case of the Rabaa sit-in dispersal."

Morsi's family expressed their appreciation to all those who stood for Morsi, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani.

The Morsi Foundation for Democracy was founded in June 2020 in London by his family and lawyers with the aim of defending freedom and democracy in the world.

Morsi, a leading member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, had won Egypt's first free presidential election in 2012. But just a year later, he was not only ousted but imprisoned after a coup led by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt's then-defense minister and current president.

Morsi passed away in a Cairo courtroom on June 17, 2019. He was facing a host of legal charges, which many human rights groups and independent observers said were politically motivated.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara