US, EU 'turn a blind eye' to Morsi's death

The West has shown little interest in the death of Egypt's first and only democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi, who died in a courtroom on Monday.

Morsi's death has already started to increase pressure on the Egyptian government over its human rights record, especially conditions in prisons where thousands of activists are held.

However, European countries haven't released any statement on Morsi’s death under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, who toppled him in a 2013 military coup.  

Only United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric offered condolences to Morsi's relatives and supporters.

The United States, whose President Donald Trump welcomed Sisi to the White House for the second time and praised him as "great person" in April, offered little reaction to the passing of Morsi.  

When asked about Morsi's death during Monday's press briefing, spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the agency "saw that the death was reported."

'West should cry for Morsi'

El Pais, one of the leading newspapers in Spain, on Monday criticised the Western world for turning a blind eye to Morsi's death. 

Luz Gomez of the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, who wrote the editorial, predicted that human rights advocates and the leaders of the Western countries would not offer condolences for Morsi's death. 

Gomez described him as "the pruned path of Egyptian democracy," saying his prestige was well above the politics in his country.

Morsi was elected president in 2012 in the country's first free elections following the ouster the year before of Western-backed longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. 

Throughout his controversial trials, Morsi insisted he remained Egypt's legitimate president. 

In early court sessions, he gave angry speeches until judges ordered him kept in a glass cage during sessions where they could turn off his audio.