Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday paid tribute to former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, who died in a Cairo hospital after fainting during a court session, calling him a "martyr."
"May Allah rest our Morsi brother, our martyr's soul in peace," said Erdoğan, who had forged close ties with Morsi.
He added: "I offer my condolences to all of my brothers who walked the path with him. I offer my condolences to the Egyptian people."
Relations between Turkey and Egypt have been virtually non-existent since the Egyptian military, then led by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in 2013 ousted democratically-elected president Morsi. Sisi has since become president.
Erdoğan has strongly denounced Morsi's ouster and called for the release of Muslim Brotherhood prisoners in Egypt.
Speaking in Istanbul, Erdoğan again took aim at Sisi, calling him a "tyrant" who took power in a "coup" and who has trampled on democracy.
"The West has remained silent," Erdoğan said.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said: "The coup moved him (Morsi) away from the power but his memory will not be erased."
