CAIRO 

Former Egyptian Vice-President Mohamed ElBaradei on Sunday criticized denying visits to ousted president Mohamed Morsi in prison and other jailed leaders of his Muslim Brotherhood group.

"If true… that visits were denied to Dr Morsi, his son and [Brotherhood leader Mohamed] al-Beltagy for periods ranging between months and years then we are facing a morally and legally ugly situation that cannot be explained and cannot continue," ElBardei said on Twitter.

There was no comment from the Egyptian authorities on ElBaradei's comment.

Ahmed Morsi, the son of the former president, has recently said Egyptian authorities have denied visits to his jailed brother Ossama for the past 17 months.

ElBaradei briefly served as vice-president following Egypt’s 2013 military coup, which led to the ouster of Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president and a Muslim Brotherhood leader.

Following Morsi's overthrow, Egyptian authorities launched a relentless crackdown on dissent, killing hundreds and arresting thousands of supporters of Morsi and his Brotherhood group.