A delegation from the African Union, led by former Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare, visited ousted President Mohamed Morsy at his still unknown place of detention, MENA reported on Wednesday. The visit lasted an hour.
Morsy has been detained in an undisclosed location since he was ousted from power on 3 July. Morsy’s family and politicians from the Muslim Brotherhood have repeatedly called for his release.
An army spokesperson, meanwhile, said that Morsy was not being imprisoned but rather kept in a safe place for his own security.
The AU delegation is scheduled to meet with Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi on Wednesday as well as hold a press conference to brief the press on the results of its meetings with officials in Cairo.
The delegation also met with Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met with Morsy on Monday. After a meeting that lasted two hours, Ashton said Morsy has access to the media and is being treated well.
A senior Muslim Brotherhood figure later claimed that Morsy told the EU official he flatly refused to trade off his presidential legitimacy for a safe exit for himself and other Brotherhood prisoners.
The source claimed Morsy was ousted by a coup d'etat, adding that he had intended to call for a referendum following parliamentary elections scheduled for September or October.
Morsy emphatically told Ashton that he is the legitimate president of Egypt through elections deemed free and fair by the European Union itself, the source added.
The AU suspended Egypt's membership following Morsy's ouster from power in what the union considered a military coup.
