The following statement is given by the Legal Team at Guernick 37 International Justice Chambers, appointed as legal counsel to the family of the former President of Egypt, Dr. Mohamed Morsi on the first anniversary of the death of Abdullah Mohamed Morsi, the youngest son of the former President.
On this occasion, we need to remind the public of the truth of what happened to the late Abdullah Morsi, who appointed me two months before his death to represent him in the case of his father, Dr Morsi, who died in prison in very conditions that can only be described as a fundamental breach of his human rights and the responsibility for his death falls on the Egyptian State, now led by the military coup leader, Abdel Fattah el Sisi.
Abdullah's appointment of our Chambers in London was due to the impossibility of initiating any independent, impartial and transparent investigation forward in Egypt in the case of the his father, due to the lack of justice following the military coup that unlawfully removed his father from political office and subjected him to a period of ill-treatment, persistent violations of the law, breach of the constitutional, human rights and humanitarian protections.
On this day, one year after Abdullah’s untimely death in what continues to be mysterious and disputed circumstances near his home city, we renew our demand to the Egyptian authorities for an independent investigation into the death of both the former president, Dr. Morsi and his son, Abdullah and we demand for the full disclosure of the results of the investigations carried out thus far, as claimed by the authorities, but were not released and kept for reasons of state secrecy. There is no basis for this unless there was state involvement in both murders.
Abdullah Morsi was killed outside his home on 4 September 2019, a claim that was confirmed by the Egyptian Public Prosecution after the charge of attempted murder and the premeditated murder charge was attributed to Randa Ali Shaker Ali Asran, an Egyptian citizen married and residing in Bab al-Sharia in Cairo and born in August 1984. Regrettably, her information and her testimony, presents a number of highly conflicting results.
It is apparent that Asran was tried in secret sessions without any public announcements, and the result of the forensic report of Abdullah Morsi's death was kept secret. The accused, Asran, was not faced with any transparent investigation, but information now revealed to our legal team, reveals that the account adopted by the authorities concerning Abdullah's death is contradictory and outright false, as Asran, contrary to what the authorities claimed at the time was not alone at the time of Abdullah's death, but rather she was in the company of someone who has come to be known as “Micho”.
Information now disclosed, appears to confirm that Abdullah was transported in his car a distance of more than 20 kilometres to a hospital after he took his last breath as a result ofhaving been injected with a lethal substance, and he was not transferred to nearby hospitals, intentionally, until after he had died. It is quite clear that certain elements of the State were aware of this fact that is only now coming to light.
The person known as “Micho” has communicated this matter to members of the legal team along with a video that appears to show Abdullah being transported to his car and carrying him, already deceased, to the Oasis Hospital in the Al-Ahram Plateau in Giza at exactly nine thirty four on Wednesday 4 September 2019, and the accused Asran exited the car and the other accused wore a red T-shirt with “Micho” written on it.
It is regrettable that the prosecution did not summon or search for the accused who handed the car key to the hospital receptionist and then disappeared, and who drove the car and escorted the accused to the hospital before disappearing.
In this video, Abdullah's car can clearly be seen, and Abdullah appears on a stretcher. The defendant Asran also appears, along with the unknown person known as Micho.
Our legal team has obtained information that the Egyptian Security Services were not satisfied with what happened to Abdullah, who should have been under the protection of the authorities of the State as an Egyptian citizen, in addition to being the holder of a diplomatic passport.
He was the son of a former Egyptian president who is supposed to be subject to the highest level of protection of the Republican Guard, as with the children of all former Heads of State.
The system of protection under the Federal Law, which regulates the protection and benefitsfor the families of former presidents of the Republic, is afforded to all except the family of the unlawfully deposed, and only democratically elected, President, Dr. Mohamed Morsi.
Rather than affording the highest level of protection under the law, the family is continually subjected to danger, to threats and to interference with their private lives.
They are prohibited from working, moving and transferring money, and are unable to own property.
We now call on the Egyptian authorities to fully and unconditionally cooperate in the investigation into the death Abdullah Morsi’s murder and to bring the perpetrators, whoever they may be, to justice.
We must also demand that the authorities conduct an effective investigation into the circumstances and the reasons for why the authorities prevented his funeral according to his will and to his religious beliefs. There is no justification for such an interference.
We demand that the authorities assume their responsibility towards the family of the president as citizens of the Egyptian State and to cease the ongoing persecution solely on the basis that they are the family members of the former President. There is no justification for the ongoing political persecution and retaliatory treatment they are subjected to on a daily basis. That must stop now.
The legacy of Dr. Mohamed Morsi as the first and only democratically elected President of Egypt will stand no matter what steps the present military regime takes in a vain attempt to destroy it.
We must also now call for the immediate and unconditional release of Osama Morsi, son of the former President, who has been in held in detention for almost four years.
The killings of both Dr. Morsi and his son Abdullah, that involve the responsibility of the State, will be presented to the UN Special Rapporteur, Dr. Agnes Callamard, and we will continue to push for justice.
We call upon the US administration to protect those family members who are US citizens and take the necessary measures as it must towards all its citizens, with concern for their lives after Abdullah’s death.
Finally, on the first anniversary of Abdullah Morsi's departure, we remember his case, the case of his family and his father, the former President Mohamed Morsi, and we thank all those who have supported this process of truth, justice and accountability.
On that note, solidarity, we will be holding a panel discussion with leading experts on Thursday 10 September from London. However, due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference will be streamed online.
On this anniversary, we note that the Morsi Foundation for Democracy took the initiative to present an annual award in the name of the late Abdullah Morsi in the field of youth and freedom support, an initiative based on the perpetuation of Abdullah Morsi's sacrifice for the sake of his homeland and his father’s right and defending the oppressed in the path of freedom and democracy.
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