Egypt's Morsi to sue rulers over 'coup'

Deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi plans to sue the army-installed authorities over his overthrow, warning that stability will only return once their "coup" is annulled, his lawyer said Wednesday. Mohamed al-Damati and a team of lawyers on Monday visited Morsi in jail, where he is awaiting the next hearing in a trial on charges of involvement in the deaths of protesters during his year-long presidency. "The president plans to take legal measures against the coup, and this will be up to the defence team in the near future," Damati told reporters. "There are complaints which will be presented to the prosecutor general (to say) that what happened was a crime." Damati also said complaints could be filed to the administrative court to annul "the move by (military chief) General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi" to topple Morsi. Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, was removed from office by the army on July 3 after mass protests calling for his resignation. He insists that he remains the president of Egypt and has rejected the legitimacy of the court trying him. In a letter read out by his lawyers, he reiterated his rejection of the process and warned of continuing unrest. "Egypt will not regain its stability except by annulling this coup," Morsi said. Unrest has spiked in the country since Morsi's overthrow, and the bitter divisions between his supporters and opponents have deepened. Morsi's supporters have been holding near-daily protests around the country despite a massive crackdown by the authorities that has killed more than 1,000 people. Another 2,000 people, including the top leadership of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, are behind bars. Morsi was catapulted from the long-banned Muslim Brotherhood to the presidency after winning Egypt's first free elections in 2012. His victory was made possible by the 2011 uprising that toppled long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak. But his short-lived presidency was marred by political turmoil, deadly clashes and a crippling economic crisis, prompting millions to take to the streets in June to demand his resignation. Source: AFP