Full Text Of Mohammed Morsi Statement From Prison, Signed 'President' Of Egypt

Former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi Saturday urged his supporters in a statement from prison to remain steadfast and give "no recognition [to] the coup" that ousted the Muslim Brotherhood leader in July 2013. He signed the statement "President of the Arab Republic of Egypt," in what many said signaled Morsi’s belief he may once again rule the country.

Members of Egypt’s current leadership, led by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, live “in fear of a black fate awaiting them,” Morsi wrote.

Morsi’s statement took the opportunity to issue instructions to his supporters: "There should be no recognition of the coup,” he wrote. “There should be no retreat from the revolution and there should be no negotiation at the expense of the blood of the martyrs."

He added despite several “attempts to negotiate a compromise at the expense of the revolution and the blood of the martyrs,” he will not leave prison until all imprisoned anti-coup male supporters were free. As for the many anti-coup women currently being held in Egypt’s prisons, Morsi said he would not rest until his “detained daughters are back in their homes.”

“My life is not dearer than the lives of the noble martyrs of the revolution,” Morsi wrote.

After weeks of protest in Egypt, el-Sissi ousted Morsi July 3, 2013. The military then cracked down on his supporters and arrested hundreds of anti-coup protesters. Some prisoners, like high school student Mareya el-Metwally Samaha, were only 14 when they were arrested and sentenced to years in prison.

At least 200 women were jailed for supporting the anti-coup movement, according to the group Women Against the Coup. Many of them were “beaten by batons, their scarves were removed and they were pulled by the hair, clothes were ripped off, and they were sexually molested by officers who touched their private parts," a report released by the group earlier this year said.

Morsi released the statement in Arabic on his Facebook and Twitter accounts and it was later published on the Muslim Brotherhood’s website in both English and Arabic. It marked the celebration of the New Year in the Islamic calendar.

Friday, Egypt experienced one of it’s deadliest “terrorist attacks” since Morsi's ouster. Two attacks on Egyptian security forces left at least 30 people dead and dozens more wounded in Sinai where a state of emergency has now been declared. Morsi’s family issued a statement Saturday condemning the attacks and blamed Egypt’s current leadership.

“The family strongly condemns this heinous criminal incident and holds coup authorities fully responsible for neglecting security and protection of the lives of soldiers,” the statement said.

The full text of Morsi’s statement via Middle East Monitor:

Great People of Egypt,

I congratulate you on the occasion of the New Hijrah year while the country is still at the zenith of its revolution and the youth are at the peak of their determination to implement their will. I congratulate you and express delight at the continuation of your revolution against the paralyzed coup and its leaders who seek to subjugate the country to their whims. Yet, they will never succeed. They live in fear of a black fate awaiting them as a punishment for what they have perpetrated of crimes against this great nation.

I seize this opportunity to announce that I have turned down, and continue to reject, all the attempts to negotiate a compromise at the expense of the revolution and the blood of the martyrs. These are attempts that are aimed at enabling the criminals to continue enjoying the enslavement of a people they never deserved to be part of. I would also like to reiterate my instructions to all active revolutionaries in the field, including their leaderships, their councils, their coalitions, their symbols, their thinkers and their students: "there should be no recognition of the coup, there should be no retreat from the revolution and there should be no negotiation at the expense of the blood of the martyrs."

Happy new year, and may the next year arrive while you are still revolutionaries and are free.

As for me, I am absolutely confident, by the grace of God, that God will provide our revolution with victory. My trust in your glowing willpower and enormous strength is unwavering. By the will of God I shall not depart my prison before all my detained sons are freed and before all my detained daughters are back in their homes. My life is not dearer than the lives of the noble martyrs of the revolution. I derive my willpower from that of the innovative youth in all revolution squares and universities.

So, bear the glad tidings and continue your revolution. God will support the truth and will not let you down. God willing, we shall meet soon to celebrate the success of the revolution.

Mohammed Morsi

President of the Arab Republic of Egypt