Morsi Supporters Rally in Egypt by the Thousands

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian Islamists and others who support Mohamed Morsi, the president who was deposed and arrested by the military last week, swelled the streets of Cairo and other cities Friday in an intensifying campaign aimed at returning the country’s first freely elected president to power.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

The New York Times:

The size of the protests underlined both the large section of society that has rejected the military intervention on July 3 that deposed Mr. Morsi after millions protested against him, and the continued split over the country’s direction.

In Washington, the State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said the United States concurred with an assertion made earlier in the day by Germany that Mr. Morsi should be released. Asked about Germany’s position at a daily briefing, she said, “We do agree.”

Ms. Psaki declined to specify whether the United States still recognized Mr. Morsi as the president of Egypt. But her response about his detention appeared to reflect growing concern by the Obama administration over the interim government’s promises to move toward new elections and an inclusive democratic system.

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