LONDON

The Egyptian Revolutionary Council (ERC) is calling for an independent, third-party investigation into the death of former President Mohamed Morsi, who passed away Monday during a court appearance to face espionage charges. 

The council also accused Western governments of hypocrisy for supporting and aiding the military regime of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who overthrew Morsi’s democratically elected government in 2013, while remaining silent over the mass human rights abuses committed by Sisi in the years since the military coup. 

“The ERC calls on all human rights organizations and all Western governments to pressure the military regime in Egypt to accept an independent third-party investigation into his death, which we maintain was a result of a premeditated policy by the military regime,” it said in a press release.

“The ERC notes in contrast how Western governments, despite the rhetoric of standing for the values and principles of democracy, chose to back a military regime that came to power on the back of murder, torture and rape for the sake of narrow self-interests,” it added. 

The organization, which represents an array of Egyptian opposition movements in exile, said that ultimately all dictatorships will come to an end and that the Egyptian people will hold to account those responsible for the ensuing oppression and will judge the West on their hypocrisy and their lack of action in supporting Egyptian democracy and those who oppose tyranny. 

“President Morsi chose to sacrifice his freedom and ultimately his life in defense of the democratic rights of the Egyptian people to control their own destiny by standing up to the military coup and refusing to step down to bestow legitimacy on a military coup,” the ERC said.

“There can be no truer statement of belief in democracy than such a noble and selfless sacrifice.”

Morsi became Egypt’s first democratically-elected president in 2012 and was ousted the following year in a military coup by Sisi, who was then chief of staff of the Egyptian military. Following the coup, Morsi and senior officials of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested on charges that many call politically motivated. 

Since the coup, the regime has cracked down on all channels of dissent and opposition, arresting many supporters of Morsi and the Brotherhood and those who are against the coup, with many more being killed.