Turkish leader condemns inaction before Morsi's death

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's president on Tuesday condemned "the Western world and humanity" for looking on as former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi died after being toppled and tortured in prison.

Speaking at a rally in Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday's upcoming mayoral election of the city's metropolitan municipality shows there were those who were "reminiscent of [the fate of] Morsi" on the one hand, and those who would "walk the just way" on the other.

Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, died Monday during a court appearance.

In a local elections revote slated for June 23 in Turkey, People's Alliance candidate Binali Yildirim and Nation Alliance candidate Ekrem Imamoglu will again vie for the Istanbul mayor’s seat after the country's top election authority ordered a re-run of the March 31 Istanbul polls.

The results of the March vote were canceled after the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) appealed to the election council, citing irregularities and violations of the elections law.