CAIRO: Egypt recalled its ambassador from Tunisia on Saturday after the Tunisian president demanded the release of deposed leader Mohammad Mursi, state television reported.
The Egyptian foreign ministry recalled its ambassador for “consultations,” state television reported. Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki had called on Egypt’s new rulers to release Mursi, who has been detained in a secret location since the military overthrew him on July 3.
The United Arab Emirates had earlier recalled its ambassador to Tunisia in protest against Marzouki’s remarks.
The UAE’s decision was made after “attacks made by the Tunisian president against Egypt and its new leadership, which the Emirates find unacceptable.”
Mursi faces trial on charges of inciting the killings of protesters during clashes outside the presidential palace in December 2012, but no date has been set for the hearings. Police have arrested more than 2,000 Islamists in a broad crackdown on Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement. More than 1,000 people, mostly Islamists, have also died in clashes with security forces since August 14, when police broke up two Islamist protest camps in Cairo.
