Egypt government denies fabricating evidence in Mohamed Morsi trial

Egypt’s government has denied it fabricated key documents linked to the trial of Mohamed Morsi, the country’s ousted president, after a set of unverified leaked recordings appeared to show that senior Egyptian military officials colluded with the country’s police chief and top state prosecutor to ensure his trial did not collapse.

Morsi was seized by army officers in July 2013 and taken to await prosecution in a naval base, an illegal process his lawyers argue invalidated any subsequent court case.

According to the pro-Morsi channel that broadcast the recordings, the leaks show a senior general asking colleagues to retrospectively legalise Morsi’s arrest by building a fake civilian prison in which the authorities could pretend Morsi had always been interned. If it was proven Morsi was instead kept in a military compound, the alleged general says, “Morsi will be out in the street tomorrow”.

In one recording the general – said to be Mamdouh Shaheen – tells Egypt’s navy chief, Osama el-Guindy, to build the fake prison on the edge of the naval base. In a second recording, Shaheen appears to tell police chief Mohamed Ibrahim to create paperwork showing that the construction of the fake prison predated Morsi’s arrest. In a third, Shaheen allegedly tells Morsi’s successor, former army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, that all has gone to plan.

“Guys, we just have to build a building,” the man identified as Shaheen says at one point. “We’ll build a building somewhere outside. We will build an entrance and we’ll put a fence around it and bring security forces. And we can also bring two security cars and security checkpoints at the right and the back.”

Throughout the recordings, Shaheen says he is acting at the request of Egypt’s chief prosecutor – Hisham Barakat – who, according to Shaheen, has himself discussed the case with the judge. In his public statements Barakat has often emphasised the independence of the judicial process.

On Friday Barakat’s office said the recordings had been faked by the Muslim Brotherhood and announced an investigation. A military source denied the contents of the recording. A presidential spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After four months of incommunicado detention in the naval base, Morsi reappeared for the first of several trials in early November. He is yet to be convicted or sentenced.