The son of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Deputy Supreme Guide, Khairat al-Shater, said his father met with foreign officials on Sunday, admitting the meeting took place despite Shater's original refusal not to meet them.
Shater's son, Hassan, told the Turkish news agency Anadolu "specific sources informed me about my father's insistence not to negotiate on behalf of the rallies on the streets."
"Once he knew that a delegation of mediators would meet him, he requested from the prison's administration to inform him that only the legitimate President Mohamed Morsy can [hold negotiations]."
"The information I got was that the delegation tried more than once to negotiate and mediate to resolve the crisis," he said, adding that his father refused to negotiate and confrimed only Morsy had that right.
Hassan said prison officials took him to the office to meet with the delegation at midnight. "The meeting lasted for almost an hour during which the delegation tried to convince my father to hold dialogue. However, he insisted that negotiations are only held with Morsy."
The statement confirms earlier reports made by a Muslim Brotherhood figure, who told Anadolu that Deputy U.S. Secretary of State William Burns and other Arab officials urged Egyptian authorities to allow the meeting with Shater on Sunday.
The Brotherhood figure, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "The hidden reason behind meeting with Shater was showing that Mohamed Morsy has no value and doesn't have the final decision on the crisis."
Anadolu meanwhile quoted Freedom and Justice Party leader Mohamed al-Beltagy as saying that Shater rejected the delegation when it visited him in prison on Sunday.
Beltagy added on Monday that Shater informed the delegation that they should visit Morsy, the legitimate president of Egypt.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
