Egypt: UN Chief Demands Immediate Release of Ousted President Morsi

Photo: Saeed Shahat/IRIN
A pro-Morsi demonstration.

New York — UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for the release of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi. A statement from the UN deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey say that the UN chief demanded that Morsi and senior Muslim Brotherhood leaders be released or have their cases reviewed transparently without delay.

The ousted president and several Muslim Brotherhood leaders have been arrested since the Egyptian army overthrew Morsi in a military coup on July 3.

On July 25, Hisham Qandil who was the prime minister before Morsi was ousted, proposed a three-stage roadmap for Egypt in a video recording posted on YouTube.

The former premier said both opponents and supporters of Morsi should refrain from marches and stage demonstrations only in fixed locations.

Qandil also urged the release of prisoners arrested in the days which led up to Morsi's ouster, and those detained ever since, adding that a delegation must visit Morsi to make sure of his health.

"Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie has called on Egyptians to peacefully make a stand for freedom and legitimacy, and against the bloody coup," Qandil said.

On July 22, Morsi's family said they plan to take legal action against the head of Egypt's army for having kidnapped the toppled president.

"We are taking local and international legal measures against Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the leader of the bloody military coup, and his group," Morsi's daughter Shaimaa Mohamed Morsi told a news conference.

Morsi's son Osama also said the family had not heard from him since his ouster. The family held the army responsible for the health and safety of Morsi.

Mohamed Morsi is being held at an undisclosed location.

So far almost 200 people have died in political unrest since the end of June, many of them in clashes between Morsi's supporters and opponents and in militants' attacks in the Sinai.

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