Former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi died on Monday in a Cairo hospital after fainting during a session in court, judicial and security sources said.
According to Egyptian State Television, Morsi, aged 67 suffered a heart attack following the court hearing and his body has been transferred to a hospital in preparation for burial arrangements.
The ousted Morsi asked to speak at the session, and the judge gave him permission.
He then reportedly fainted in court and was later pronounced dead.
Middle East Monitor reports that Morsi was elected in democratic elections in 2012 after the 2011 revolution ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak. He was overthrown in a coup by the Egyptian military, who installed current President Abdel Al-Sisi as the leader.
“He was speaking before the judge for 20 minutes then became very animated and fainted. He was quickly rushed to the hospital where he later died,” a judicial source said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a strong ally of the Islamist president during his brief tenure as Egypt’s leader, paid tribute to Morsi and called him a “martyr”.