Morsi accuses Egypt's interim leader of treason In a letter from prison made public by his lawyers on Wednesday, Mohammed Morsi, the former Islamist president of Egypt, heaped scorn on his opponents in the military-backed government, saying that they had committed treason and that Egypt "will not recover" until the "coup" that removed him from power was reversed. At the same time, Mr. Morsi sought to encourage his supporters who have held protests for months, bedevilling Egypt's interim authorities, saying that the protesters were "heroes." The letter represented Mr. Morsi's most extensive comments on Egypt's political crisis since the military took him into custody last July and held him without access to lawyers or his family. His long silence was broken briefly earlier this month, when he appeared in public for the first time since his ouster to stand trial on charges that he incited the murder of protesters. In his letter Wednesday, which was read at a televised news conference by a lawyer, Mohamed el-Damaty, Mr. Morsi revealed new details about his detention by the military, which he said had "kidnapped" him. Mr. Morsi tried in the letter to quash any speculation that he had been negotiating an end to Egypt's political impasse with his captors, saying he had not met with any military leaders since being detained. His comments seemed to further doom any possibility of dialogue: He accused Egypt's Defence Minister and de facto leader, General Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, of committing "treason against the constitution and the people." Mr. Morsi briefly mentioned reconciliation, but not on any terms the military was likely to accept; the people, he said, "must know that this coup is a crime." The military takeover and Mr. Morsi's detention set Egypt on a bloody, turbulent course. The authorities embarked on a brutal crackdown on his movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, imprisoning or killing thousands of people. Islamists singled out Egypt's Coptic Christian minority for retribution, burning and looting dozens of churches and Christian homes and businesses. And militants, in the Sinai Peninsula and elsewhere, have begun a campaign of assassinations and bombings against the police and the military, prompting fears that an insurgency is gathering momentum. In his statement, Mr. Morsi said he was detained on July 2, two days after millions of people protested around the country against his rule, and a day before the military formally announced that it had seized power. He said he was first held in the headquarters of the Republican Guard, and after three days was moved to a naval base, along with one of his assistants. On July 8, the police and the army gunned down at least 60 of Morsi's supporters who had gathered outside the Republican Guard building, believing incorrectly that the former president was still inside. At the naval base, Morsi was visited by Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief; by a group of African diplomats; and by "four investigators, whose questions I have refused to answer," Morsi said. He is now being held near the port city of Alexandria. It was unclear whether Mr. Morsi's comments would galvanize what remains of his Islamist movement. The group's protests have persisted, but are dwindling in size, prompting questions about its strategy. "Rally behind the rights of the country," Mr. Morsi said. Not behind a person.