CAIRO
Former presidential contender Selim al-Awa remains the lawyer of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, according to the defense team representing other defendants in the cases involving Morsi.
"Rumors about al-Awa abandoning the defense of the president are untrue," the defense team wrote in a statement, a copy of which was mailed to Anadolu Agency late Sunday.
Rumor were rife this evening that al-Awa, a former presidential hopeful, had decided to stop defending Morsi.
The source of the rumors was traced to an alleged Twitter for al-Awa.
"We have communicated with al-Awa who confirmed he does not have Facebook or twitter accounts," said the defense team.
Mohamed al-Damati, the official spokesperson of the team, confirmed the same.
"Al-Awa could not have let the president down," al-Damati told AA.
Morsi – along with 14 other defendants, including several high-ranking Muslim Brotherhood leaders – face charges of inciting the murder of protesters outside Ittihadiya presidential palace in late 2012.
Morsi was removed from office by Egypt's military last July following protests against his presidency.
The ousted leader has since been jailed pending trial on multiple charges.
Morsi insists that he still represents Egypt's legitimate president and refused to recognize the trial's legitimacy.
By Hussein Qabai
englishnews@aa.com.tr
