2019-Apr-01 Egypt

               Former president of Egypt Mohamed Morsi, who was on trial in Egypt, died in a courtroom shortly after addressing the court on 17 June. He was buried in secrecy on 18 June. Amnesty International called for the Egyptian authorities to investigate Morsi’s death. A leading member of Morsi’s party, the Muslim Brotherhood, called his death a “premeditated murder,” citing lack of medical care for the former president while in prison. The exact circumstances for Morsi’s death remained unclear by the end of the quarter. In April, the U.S. administration announced that it was working toward designating the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. Also in April, Egyptians voted to approve a constitutional amendment allowing Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to remain in power until 2030. Al-Sisi led the military coup that overthrew Morsi in 2013. According to Egyptian officials, the voter turnout was 44 percent and 88.8 percent voted in favor of the constitutional amendment. Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists had previously urged the Egyptian government not to amend its constitution, saying that it puts Egypt on a path to more autocratic rule.