The ousted president Mohamed Morsi's family held a press conference in Cairo's Engineers' Syndicate Monday to denounce the "illegal detention" of their father, accusing the army of "kidnapping" him.
Mohamed Morsi, who was the first elected civil president to rule Egypt, was removed from his post by the army amid massive protests against him on 3 July. Since his removal, Morsi has been kept in an undisclosed location.
Key attendees included Morsi's daughter Shaimaa, his son Osama, and his youngest son Abdallah.
Morsi's daughter criticised the military's role in what she referred to as a destructive military coup led by the Minister of Defence Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the "kidnapping" of her father.
"I hold El-Sisi responsible for anything that happens to my father's health while he is in captivity," she exclaimed, denouncing his incarceration as "a criminal act against human rights."
Earlier on Monday, Gehad El-Haddad, the spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, refuted reports that the ousted president has started a hunger strike in protest of his detention. El-Haddad said that there is no information on Morsi or his whereabouts as there has been no communication with him ever since he was removed from his post.
"Even the EU is concerned about Morsi's captivity and health illustrated by Catherine Ashton's recent visit demanding his release," said Mohamed El-Damaty, head of lawyers syndicate freedoms committee and member of the syndicate’s board.
Morsi's elder son Osama, an acting lawyer since 2006, threatened El-Sisi of the repercussions of the "crime he committed against democracy." Osama said that his family might seek help from the International Criminal Court.
Morsi's son denied that his father has health problems, denouncing rumours of liver failure. Anyone who claims otherwise is "spreading lies," he added.
When asked how he intends to reinstate his father as the legitimate president, Morsi's son referred to local and international laws as the backbone of his and his father's supporters quest.
International intervention was rejected by Osama and other speakers.
"We are against any foreign interference in Egyptian political affairs," affirmed El-Damaty.
