Turkey to push for truth to emerge on Morsi's death

By Erdogan Cagatay Zontur

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey will endeavour to shed light on the suspicious death of Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi during a court trial on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

“We [Turkey] will struggle to enlighten the case [the death of Morsi] making best of the international law,” Erdogan told a press briefing in Istanbul.

Turkish president also urged for a UN investigation into the unexpected demise of Egypt’s first democratically-elected president in 2012.

“I believe UN will address Morsi's suspicious death as an agenda item and bring those responsible [for his death] to account,” Erdogan said.

Morsi, 67, died Monday after falling unconscious inside his soundproof glass cage during his trial on "espionage" charges. Activists and his family have long maintained that he was not receiving treatment for a host of health problems including diabetes.

A leading member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi was ousted and imprisoned in a military coup led by then-Defense Minister and current President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi after only a year in office.

“We will never let the tragedy of Morsi be forgotten, just as we did with the murder of [Saudi journalist] Jamal Khashoggi,” Erdogan added.

Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by a group of Saudi operatives shortly after he entered the country's consulate in Istanbul last Oct. 2.

Riyadh offered various, conflicting narratives to explain his disappearance before acknowledging he was murdered in the diplomatic building, while seeking to shift blame for his death on a botched rendition operation being carried out by rogue agents.