Egypt’s ousted president said to be refusing food

Islamist ex-leader Mohammed Morsi, sentenced to death, tells court he is diabetic, labels prison fare ‘a crime’

By Merrit Kennedy 9 August 2015, 1:59 am

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Egypt's deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi raises his hands from behind the defendant's cage as the judge reads out his verdict sentencing him and more than 100 other defendants to death, at the police academy in Cairo on May 16, 2015. (Khaled Desouki/AFP)

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s state-run media says ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi is refusing to eat prison food because he doesn’t think it is safe.

The state-run MENA news agency reported Morsi made the comments at a court hearing Saturday. He requested permission to receive outside food and described the prison food as “a crime committed against his rights.”

MENA said the former president added that he was diabetic and that he was suffering from low blood sugar. It said Morsi requested to meet with a medical team.

The judge said he would allow Morsi’s defense team to meet with their client.

Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, was overthrown by the military in 2013, a coup followed by an intensive nationwide crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood. He has been sentenced to death and faces other trials.