Al-Qaida accuses Egypt of killing ex-president Morsi in jail

CAIRO – Al-Qaida is accusing Egyptian authorities of killing jailed former President Mohamed Morsi, who died in a Cairo courtroom during his trial earlier this month.

The militant group’s media arm as-Sahab posted a statement on Thursday, urging Egyptians to rise against current President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

Al-Qaida says: “We do not doubt that he (Morsi) was killed, oppressed and humiliated” in jail.

Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president who hailed from the Islamist, now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, was ousted by the military in 2013 after massive protests against his divisive rule. He had been jailed for six years until his death.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a fierce el-Sissi critic, has claimed that Morsi’s death was suspicious while rights groups said the government deliberately denied Morsi access to medical care.