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| Africa North |
| Egypt investigates Salafist's death in custody |
| 2011-01-09 |
| An Egyptian prosecutor has ordered an autopsy on the body of a man who relatives claim was arrested and tortured to death days after the attack on a Coptic church in Alexandria, the prosecutor's lawyer said on Saturday. Mohamed Sayyid Bilal, 32, was detained on Wednesday after a so-far unnamed bomber killed 23 people on New Year's day at the church. Bilal's body was turned over to his family the next day and it bore marks of torture and burns, his brother Ibrahim said. The brother said the family then filed a report with the prosecutor's office accusing Egyptian security of torturing Bilal to death during his interrogation and demanding an investigation. The Interior Ministry has refused to comment. But the public prosecutor said that an investigation into the family's charges was under way and he had ordered an autopsy. Authorities are searching for a cell of four to five suspects from Egypt and elsewhere, state media reports said on Saturday with no details. Bilal was one of many Salafists rounded up along with "A day after he was arrested we got a call from a hospital saying he was suffering from low blood pressure. When we arrived we found him dead. His body had torture marks and burns," said Ibrahim Bilal. "We filed a report number 88-2011." "We are investigating these claims and ordered an autopsy on his body but the forensic report has not come yet. So far no one has proof he was tortured," said Attorney General Yaser Rifai. An anti-torture page on Facebook called "We are Khaled Said" has denounced the church attack and called for a silent march to commemorate the victims. |
| Posted by:ryuge |