Egyptian FM says Morsi not "shrine" for visitors

CAIRO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was not a "shrine" for visitors and he was being investigated in connection with a number of issues, newly-appointed Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said Wednesday.

Visits to Morsi by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and an African Union (AU) delegation were aimed at allowing the visitors to get information from Morsi on what happened in Egypt, he explained.

But it did not mean that Morsi was an attraction site for visitors, Fahmy was quoted as saying by Egypt's official news agency MENA.

All people who have met Morsi reiterated support for Egypt's roadmap plan, as well as their condemnation of acts of violence and terrorism, he added.

The foreign minister said an Egyptian human rights group also wanted to visit Morsi, but the deposed president refused to meet them.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Fayiq, who headed the human rights group, told Xinhua that Morsi was "treated with dignity and respect" and that his health and living conditions were "good."

Fayiq said he has met Rifaah el-Tahtawy, who had been assigned by the toppled leader to talk with the human rights group.

Morsi, deposed on July 3 after massive protests against his rule, is being detained at an undisclosed location. He has not been seen publicly since his ouster.

On Friday, a top Egyptian court ordered the detention of Morsi for 15 days for investigations over charges of spying and jailbreak during the 2011 unrest that toppled then President Hosni Mubarak.

Ashton was given access to Morsi late Monday. Her spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said on Twitter that the two had two-hour "in-depth" talks.

Following Ashton's visit, a nine-member AU delegation, headed by former Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare, also met with Morsi.

However, Egyptian authorities on Wednesday turned down a request by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to meet the deposed president, saying he was under investigation over charges of conspiring with the Palestinian Islamic movement of Hamas during the 2011 unrest, MENA reported.

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