Former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi died during a court hearing on Monday.
“He was speaking before the judge for 20 minutes then became very animated and fainted. He was quickly rushed to the hospital where he later died,” a judicial source said.
Morsi’s friend, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, paid tribute to Morsi and called him a “martyr”.
The former Islamist leader has been in prison since his ouster on trial for several cases including for spying for Iran, Qatar and militant groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
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Since his overthrow on July 3, 2013, his former defence minister now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has waged an ongoing crackdown targeting his supporters from the Muslim Brotherhood with thousands jailed and hundreds facing death sentences.
Recent years have also been marked by bombings and shootings targeting security forces, particularly in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, a stronghold of the Islamic State group.
During his days in office, Morsi was unable to stop Egypt from plunging into deep divisions, a crippling economic crisis and often-deadly opposition protests.