Special prayers held for Egypt's Morsi after restricted burial

Thousands joined in prayer in Istanbul on Tuesday for ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, who died the previous day after collapsing during a trial hearing in a Cairo court.

The prayers were called by Turkey's religious authority Diyanet, which took place in the city's Fatih mosque. 

Morsi was given a restricted burial in a small family ceremony early on Tuesday a day after he suffered a fatal heart attack in court, his sons said, as supporters posted messages of grief and anger.

Turkey's president also attended a funeral prayer in absentia, expressing suspicion on his demise.

"Whether it was a normal death, or there were some other elements involved, this [Morsi's death] was suspicious. Personally, I do not believe that it was a normal death," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, speaking after the funeral prayer in Istanbul’s Fatih Mosque.

Pakistan's political and religious party Jamaat-e-Islami also held special prayers for Morsi.

The funeral prayers in absentia were held in the country's Peshawar city. Siraj ul Haq, head of Jamaat-e-Islami, lead the prayers.

In India-administered Kashmir, the faculty members and students of the popular University of Kashmir also held prayers in absentia, local English-language newspaper Kashmir Life reported.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday called Morsi a "martyr" and blamed Egypt's "tyrants" for his death.

Turkey has strongly denounced Morsi's forcible removal from power with Erdogan calling it a "coup."

On Tuesday, the Turkish leader lashed out at the West for "merely watching Morsi's toppling and his suffering in a one-room cell."

Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president in 2012 after the Arab Spring uprisings, was overthrown after a year in power.

He was quietly buried on Tuesday, as rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called for an independent probe into the causes of his death.

Erdogan slammed Egyptian authorities for burying him discreetly with only a small number of family members and confidants attending and journalists barred from the site.

"[Morsi] was buried this morning in the presence of his two sons. Why are you afraid? Yes, you're afraid of these martyrs," Erdogan said.