Egypt: Recording raises questions over legality of Morsi's detention

An Egyptian satellite TV channel has released a recorded telephone conversation between two senior Egyptian generals apparently panicking and arranging to cover up the circumstances of former President Mohamed Morsi's detention in the days after he was deposed in a military coup on 3 July last year.

The pro-Muslim Brotherhood satellite channel Mekameleen aired the recorded telephone conversations between members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) on Tuesday night. The speakers, General Mamdouh Shahin and Osama al-Guindi, a naval officer responsible for Morsi's detention at the time the conversation took place, appeared to be concerned over the secret location in which Morsi was detained after his arrest.

The Egyptian government has alleged this recording has been fabricated by the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Morsi was a member before his presidency. It has also denied it fabricated key documents related to Morsi's trial. Al-Araby al-Jadeed cannot independently verify the authenticity of the recordings.

The public prosecutor has sent two senior prosecutors... to forge the documents for the case. - General Mamdouh Shahin

The recording purports to have Shahin saying: "The cases against Morsi - spying and [killing protesters at] the Ittihadia palace - are going to collapse because he was held at an illegal location between July 3 and 7 until he was transferred to Tura prison. This will be challenged [in court]."

He is also reported to have said: "The public prosecutor has sent two senior prosecutors, Mustafa Khater and Ibrahim Saleh, to forge the documents for the case. I want to get hold of a decree from the interior minister saying Morsi was held in a prison so the case is not challenged."

Detaining Morsi in a military unit was illegal, Shahin is alleged to have noted.

"The defence will challenge Morsi's detention because it was against the law. If it is challenged in court he will be on street tomorrow... The public prosecutor has requested the details of the building where Morsi was held be forged."

The recording claims that Shahin asked Guindi to designate the place where Morsi was held as a prison run by the Interior Ministry. After a disagreement between the two, Abbas Kamel, at the time the head of the office of then- Defence Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, interfered - reportedly based on orders from Sisi, now president, who instructed them to take immediate action.

In other news around the trial of the ousted president, Morsi's defence lawyer has cited an al-Araby al-Jadeed report that suggested evidence against his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, had been destroyed before Mubarak's appeal hearing this week. Mubarak was acquitted of killing protesters.

The trial against Morsi continues.

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.