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Egypt's Morsi remains defiant, says family Family of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi says he will not conduct negotiations or accept compromises with interim authorities following deadly crackdown on Islamists
The family of toppled Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has said he is "defiant" and will not retreat fromhis "legitimacy" as a president. He will not accept negotiations or compromises with the interim authorities following a deadly crackdown on Islamists, they added. Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president, was ousted by the army on 3 July after mass protests against his divisive year-long rule. Opponents accused him of attempting to centralise power in the hands of his Islamist allies, and mismanaging the country's flagging economy.His backers decried the move as a violation of democracy.He has been held at a secret location since his ouster. "No matter how much they try to keep him away, the president will not retreat from his calls for a return to democracy, even if his soul is the price," his family said in a statement on Sunday to mark the Islamic festival of Eid Al-Adha. "The president will not give up by retreating, negotiating or compromising, particularly after all the martyrs, injuries, detainees, and missing," read the statement publishedon the Brotherhood's ikhwanonline website. The authorities have mounted a broad clampdown on Islamists since Morsi's overthrow. Hundreds were killed in mid-August when security forces cleared two protest camps set up by his supporters. Senior leaders of his Muslim Brotherhood, along with hundreds of other Islamists, have been rounded up in a bid to weaken the group. The Islamist movement has decried his ouster as a coupand balked at a roadmap set forth by the interim authorities, which promised parliamentary and presidential polls early next year. During a visit to Cairo in early October, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called for dialogue andurged the Brotherhood and the interim administration to take part in an inclusive political process, but neither side appeared willing to heed the call. Morsi, along with 14 co-defendants, is facing trial on charges of inciting violence. He is due to appear in court on 4 November, which would be his first public appearance since his ouster. He also faces accusations related to his alleged collusion with Palestinian group Hamas in prison breaks and attacks on police stations during the 2011 uprising that unseated autocratic president Hosni Mubarak. A judge extended on Sunday the detention of the deposed president for 30 days pending investigations in that case. Morsi's family emphasised his defiance, saying the "legitimate Egyptian president" would not be defeated by a "forcible abduction" or "farcical trials." http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/83967.aspx
