Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to ensure the Egyptian government is tried in international courts for the death of former president Mohamed Morsi, who suffered a fatal heart attack in a Cairo court earlier this week.
Speaking at an election rally in Istanbul, Mr Erdogan said Mursi "did not die, he was murdered," and called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to act on Mursi's death. He added he will raise the issue at the G-20 summit in Japan at the end of the month.
"Morsi was struggling on the floor in the courtroom for 20 minutes. Authorities unfortunately did not intervene to save him," Mr Erdogan said during a televised speech in Istanbul.
"Morsi was killed, he did not die of natural causes."
People hold picture of former ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi during his funeral prayer in absentia in Istanbul earlier this week. Source: AAP
Erdogan forged close ties with Morsi, Egypt's first civilian president and a prominent Muslim Brotherhood member.
But Ankara's relations with Cairo ties deteriorated after the Egyptian military, then led by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, ousted Morsi in 2013. Sisi then became president.
Mr Erdogan has sharply denounced the military takeover in Egypt and called it a "coup".
On Wednesday, he said he would follow up on the process related to Morsi's death.
"We will do whatever is needed for Egypt to be tried in international courts."
A member of Turkish Special Forces secures the area during the Wednesday AK Party campaign rally in Istanbul. Source: AAP
The attorney general's office in Egypt has said that Morsi was "transported immediately to the hospital", where medics pronounced him dead - a version confirmed by a judicial source.
Morsi was buried on Tuesday, as rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called for an independent probe into the causes of his death.
Mr Erdogan on Tuesday joined in prayer at an Istanbul mosque for the former Egyptian leader.
