DHAKA: The family of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Mursi said he would not enter any negotiations or accept any compromises following a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood by military-backed authorities.

Mursi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, was ousted by the military on July 3 following mass protests against his rule.

Authorities have since launched a crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood, killing hundreds at protest camps and marches and arresting about 2,000 Islamist activists and group members.

Mursi has been held in a secret location since his overthrow and has not been seen. He is due to face trial on November 4 on charges of inciting violence.

‘The president will not retreat, or negotiate or accept compromises especially after all the martyrs, the wounded, the arrested and missing,’ his family said in a statement carried on the Muslim Brotherhood’s ikhwanonline.com website, Turkish daily Hurriyet publishes this report on Monday.

‘No matter how much they try to keep him away, the president will not retreat from a return to the democratic path, even if his soul is the price of this democratic path,’ the family said in a statement to mark the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha.

BDST: 1310 HRS, OCT 14, 2013
RoR/BSK