Former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi died on Monday in a Cairo hospital after fainting during a session in court, judicial and security sources said.

"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.

State television said Mursi, who was 67, was in court for a hearing on charges of espionage emanating from suspected contacts with extremist group.

Mursi was serving a 20-year prison sentence for a conviction arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012.

Agence France-Presse