Middle East turmoil if Egypt's Morsi executed: Turkish presidency

Reuters , Monday 18 May 2015

Mohammed Morsi
Egypt's ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi sits in a defendant cage in the Police Academy courthouse in Cairo (Photo: AP)

Turkey's presidential spokesman said on Monday the Middle East would be thrown into turmoil if Egypt carried out its death sentences on former president Mohamed Morsi and other senior Islamists.

An Egyptian court on Sunday sought the death penalty for Morsi and 106 supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood, in connection with a mass jail-break in 2011. A final ruling is expected on June 2.

Ibrahim Kalin told a news conference in Ankara the sentences were a "breach of justice" and called on the international community to speak out more strongly against them.

"The subject demands universal attention. The execution orders and carrying them out will push the Middle East into turmoil," he said.

Turkey would work with the UN Human Rights Commission following the sentences, and take "all necessary steps", he added.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is a vocal supporter of Morsi and relations with Egypt have soured since he was ousted in 2013.

Diplomatic ties between the former regional allies were broken off after Erdogan repeatedly accused the new Egyptian government of carrying out a coup.

Speaking to Egypt's state news agency, an unnamed Egyptian official said Cairo was "unsurprised" by the comments.

"The current regime in Turkey is a reflection of the ideas of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood," the official added.

The Turkish government's backing for the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist groups across the Middle East has harmed Ankara's relations with other regional partners, including Saudi Arabia and Libya, since the Arab Spring erupted four years ago.

*The story was edited by Ahram Online 

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