EGYPT’S OUSTED PRESIDENT MORSI DENIES SENDING MONEY TO GAZA
Cairo, 22 Safar 1436/15 December 2014 (MINA) – Egypt’s ousted president Mohamed Morsi on Sunday denied charges of sending funds to the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian faction Hamas – an ideological offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood movement from which Morsi hails – while serving as president of Egypt.
“Since 9/11[attacks], no bank in the world can transfer more than $10,000 without being monitored by America,” Morsi told the court, Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
“Also, money can only be sent to Gaza through the Central Bank of Israel,” he added.
The ousted president and 35 other defendants are standing trial on charges of espionage and sending a staggering $6 billion to the Gaza Strip.
Morsi’s lawyers, meanwhile, challenged a decision by the authorities to detain Morsi prior to his ouster last year at a naval base in the northern city of Alexandria, saying this detention was illegal, because the site was not a prison facility.
Several media outlets aired earlier this month unverified audio recordings – purportedly for top Egyptian officials and brass – discussing altering the features of the detention site to be projected as a prison.
According to Egyptian law, a defendant must be held in prisons that fall under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry. If the arrest and detention procedures are invalid, the entire case can be nullified.
The prosecution, however, insisted that Morsi’s detention was necessary at the time to protect him against demonstrators who had taken to the streets to protest his rule.
Morsi was ousted by the army in July of last year following three days of mass protests against his government.
Days prior to his ouster, he was detained at a site unknown to his supporters and opponents alike.
The court, meanwhile, adjourned the court hearing until Monday.
Morsi is facing separate trials on charges that include jailbreak during the 2011 revolution, inciting the killing of demonstrators outside his presidential palace and insulting the judiciary. (T/P001/P3)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
