Egyptian police detain son of jailed former president Morsi

State security accompanied by a special forces officer arrested Abdullah Morsi without giving reason

Abdullah Morsi, the youngest son of Egypt's jailed former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, poses for a photograph in front of his home in Cairo, Egypt. AP

Egyptian police detained the youngest son of jailed former president and Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday without giving a reason, the family said, adding that they fear he will be held indefinitely.

Ahmed Morsi said three state security men accompanied by a special forces officer took his brother, Abdullah, along with his ID and mobile phone, from the family house outside Cairo early Wednesday, saying he would be released around noon. Both are sons of the jailed former president.

Abdullah said in an interview last week that he was seeking more visitation rights and better health care for his father, who has been held in solitary confinement since the army - led by then-general and now President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, intervened to remove him in 2013.

"They came into the house and said he should get dressed and that they were taking him but he would be back in five hours," Ahmed said by telephone.

Abdullah, a 25-year-old business student, waits outside Cairo's notorious Tora prison for hours once a month to leave money for food and necessities for his father, hoping for a chance to see him. But almost every time for five years he has been denied. The family says it has only seen Mr Morsi three times since his arrest, in prison visits closely monitored by police.

The family says the 67-year-old Mr Morsi suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure.

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During his year in office, Mr Morsi's Brotherhood of trying to use election victories to impose their domination over the state. Mr Morsi cracked down at times on protesters and used executive powers to force through policies, but never managed to control the levers of power, facing opposition in the courts and among police. In the end, his opponents organised mass demonstrations against his rule, and it was against this backdrop that Mr Morsi lost power.