Al-Qaida is accusing Egyptian authorities of killing jailed former U.S.-educated 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 general-turned-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 civilian president who hailed from the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, was ousted by the Sissi-led military in 2013 after massive protests against his one-year 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.