Egyptian Authorities Accused of Suppressing Press Coverage of Former President Mohamed Morsi’s Courtroom Death

The media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders has accused Egyptian authorities of suppressing press coverage of former president Mohamed Morsi’s courtroom death last week. Morsi, who in 2012 became Egypt’s first democratically elected leader following popular protests that led to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, was himself deposed in a coup a year later by then-army chief and current president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Morsi hailed from the Muslim Brotherhood, which Sisi subsequently designated a terrorist organization. Ever since, Cairo has been waging a battle against jihadists and terrorist members of an Islamic State-affiliated group in the Sinai Peninsula. Morsi’s death received widespread foreign media coverage, which prompted the United Nations and foreign leaders to call for an independent investigation. Critics claim that Morsi – whom the Egyptian judiciary charged with numerous crimes, including overseeing the killing of protesters as well as “espionage” – received scant medical attention during lengthy stints in solitary confinement, wherein he was allegedly tortured.