Islamic body head says Morsi met with human rights officials

ANKARA- Anadolu Agency

A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi holds a poster with Arabic that reads, 'Morsi...legitimacy,' during a protest near Cairo University in Giza, Egypt, July 26. AP photo

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) head Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu has said he has learned that two members of Egypt's National Human Rights Council were yesterday able to meet Mohamed Morsi, who has been held incommunicado by the army since being toppled on July 3.

İhsanoğlu said he had called Egypt's interim Foreign Minister Nebil Fahmy earlier today, in order to express concerns on Morsi's situation and the violent clashes.

"He told me that two members of the Human Rights Council, which is a civil organization, met with Morsi last night [July 26]. When I asked him what had happened in this meeting, he replied that a statement would be issued," İhsanoğlu told Anadolu Agency.

Security forces killed at least 70 Morsi supporters who were gathered in a demonstration in Cairo this morning.

"As an organization we have been closely following the developments from the beginning and are trying, within the limits of diplomacy, to make the due interventions," İhsanoğlu also said, adding that he had previously asked for Morsi's release and good treatment when 53 of his supporters were killed after the army opened fire on a demonstration in Cairo on July 3.

He also said that a special meeting was not on the agenda, as a formal call to the council for a gathering by the member countries is required for this. "We are continuing our contacts with all sections. Our recommendations are about the institution of a constitutional order and the organization of free elections as soon as possible," he said.


In a previous interview, he revealed that he had previously warned Morsi about the need to make immediate reforms to "relax society." "I emphasized especially the need to form a coalition with the opposition forces," the OIC head told Turkish daily Milliyet in an interview published July 10.

Turkey, the European Union and the United States have made separate calls to the interim government to immediately release Morsi. However, Egyptian prosecutors have launched a probe into Morsi on accusations that he conspired with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to escape from jail during the 2011 uprising against veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak, killing a number of prisoners and officers, kidnapping soldiers, and torching buildings.