Ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi dies in court

Egypt’s ousted president Mohammed Morsi has collapsed during a court session and died, according to state TV.

The 67-year-old was attending a session in his trial on espionage charges when he blacked out and then died, state TV said.

His body was taken to a hospital, it said.

Morsi, who hailed from Egypt’s largest Islamist political group – the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, was elected president in 2012 in the country’s first free elections following the ousting the year before of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.

The military ousted Morsi in 2013 after massive protests and crushed the Brotherhood in a major crackdown, arresting Morsi and many other Brotherhood leaders in the process.

Former director of military intelligence and army commander-in-chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has officially ruled the country since 2014.