Egyptian state body says tracking investigation into researcher’s death

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CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s state-appointed human rights council has urged prosecutors to analyze whether or not an financial researcher who authorities say died after being interned in a psychiatric hospital was a sufferer of compelled disappearance.

The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) additionally mentioned in an announcement posted late on Monday that it was awaiting the results of an post-mortem of the economist, Ayman Hadhoud, to see if he was subjected to torture earlier than his death.

Forced disappearance is a time period generally used for detentions carried out by safety businesses throughout which legal professionals and family will not be formally knowledgeable concerning the whereabouts of detainees or the fees towards them.

Hadhoud was an economist and member of the Reform and Development Party, whose chief, Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat, sits on the NCHR and has mediated some current prisoner releases.

Egypt’s public prosecution mentioned in an announcement that police arrested Hadhoud on Feb. 6 after a guard discovered him making an attempt to enter an residence in Cairo’s Zamalek neighbourhood, and that prosecutors despatched him to a psychological well being hospital after judging him “incomprehensible” throughout interrogation.

The prosecution mentioned it was notified of his death from cardiac arrest on March 5.

Hadhoud’s brother has been quoted by native media elevating issues concerning the case, saying the household have been solely knowledgeable of his death final week and that an post-mortem was not ordered till Sunday.

Two safety sources, talking on situation of anonymity, mentioned Hadhoud had been detained in February on accusations of spreading false information, becoming a member of a banned group and disturbing the general public peace, expenses usually levelled at political dissidents and activists.

There has been a far-reaching crackdown on political dissent in Egypt since then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the overthrow of democratically elected president Mohamed Mursi in 2013.

Rights teams say tens of 1000’s have been detained and lots of have been denied due course of or been subjected to abuse or poor jail circumstances. Officials say safety measures have been wanted to stabilise Egypt, deny the existence of political prisoners, and assert that the judiciary is unbiased.

The NCHR mentioned it was coordinating with the general public prosecution and inside ministry over 19 complaints it had obtained about alleged circumstances of compelled disappearance because it was reconstituted late final 12 months, in addition to complaints about prolonged pre-trial detention and inhumane therapy in prisons.

The revival of the NCHR, which had been in abeyance for a number of years, is one in all a sequence of steps Egyptian authorities have taken in current months in what they are saying is an effort to deal with human rights. Critics have dismissed these efforts as hole.

(Reporting by Cairo bureau, Editing by William Maclean)



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