Turkey: Protesters at Egypt Embassy over Morsi's death

ANKARA

Turkish civic groups held protests against Egypt’s government on Thursday in the wake of the untimely death of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

The Turkish Families of Martyrs and Veterans Foundation organized a protest in front of Egypt’s Embassy in the capital Ankara.

Lokman Aylar, the group’s head, said he held the Egyptian government responsible for Morsi’s death.

Aylar also extended condolences to Morsi’s family and the Egyptian people.

Earlier this week, Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) announced funeral prayers in absentia in mosques across the country for Morsi.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the many attending such prayers at Istanbul’s Fatih Mosque.

Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, died during a court appearance on Monday.

A leading member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood group, Morsi won the country’s first free presidential election in 2012.

After only a year in office, however, he was ousted and imprisoned in a bloody military coup led by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt's then defense minister and current president.

At the time of his death, Morsi faced a host of legal charges, which he along with numerous human rights groups and independent observers said were politically motivated.

* Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur