Erdogan says Morsi was ‘killed’

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said his close ally Mohamed Morsi was "killed" and accused Egyptian authorities of failing to intervene to save the ex-president.

"Morsi was struggling on the floor in the courtroom for 20 minutes. Authorities unfortunately did not intervene to save him," Erdogan said during a televised speech in Istanbul. "Morsi was killed, he did not die of natural causes." Erdogan forged close ties with Morsi, Egypt´s first civilian president and a prominent Muslim Brotherhood member. But Ankara´s relations with Cairo ties deteriorated after the Egyptian military, then led by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, ousted Morsi in 2013. Sisi then became president. Erdogan has sharply denounced the military takeover in Egypt and called it a "coup".