U.S. State Dept says death of Egyptian researcher requires investigation
By Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The demise of Egyptian financial researcher Ayman Hadhoud requires a “thorough, clear and credible” investigation, the U.S. State Division mentioned on Monday, after Hadhoud died in a Cairo psychiatric hospital the place he was despatched by the safety companies that detained him.
“We’re deeply disturbed by experiences surrounding the demise and custody of Egyptian researcher Ayman Hadhoud and allegations of his torture whereas in detention,” State Division spokesperson Ned Worth mentioned in a briefing.
“The circumstances of his detention and his therapy and of his demise we expect require an intensive, clear and credible investigation at once,” he mentioned.
Rights group Amnesty Worldwide mentioned in an announcement final month that its investigation based mostly on official information, witness interviews and impartial specialists who examined leaked images of Hadhoud’s corpse strongly instructed he had been tortured or in any other case ill-treated earlier than his demise.
Safety companies detained Hadhoud in February and despatched him to a psychiatric hospital in Cairo the place he died. Egypt’s public prosecution mentioned final month it has discovered no proof of prison violence in Hadhoud’s demise.
Hadhoud was a contract financial knowledgeable and member of the liberal Reform and Improvement Social gathering, which has a small presence in Egypt’s parliament. His brother Omar advised Reuters that Ayman had no historical past of psychological sickness, and had publicly acknowledged views that had been vital of the authorities although he had not been topic to any identified investigation earlier than his detention.
Egypt is a crucial Arab ally for Washington however the Biden administration in January withheld $130 million of navy assist over human rights considerations.
Days earlier than the transfer, the administration accepted the potential sale of air protection radars and C-130 Tremendous Hercules planes to Egypt for a complete of greater than $2.5 billion.
Worth added that Washington welcomed experiences of Egypt releasing final week ‘dozens of political detainees and journalists.’
There was 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 of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013.
Rights teams say tens of hundreds of Islamists and liberal dissidents have been detained over current years and plenty of have been denied due course of or been subjected to abuse or poor jail situations.
Officers say safety measures had been wanted to stabilise Egypt. They deny the existence of political prisoners and mistreatment of prisoners, and assert that the judiciary is impartial.
(This story corrects phrase in headline to researcher, not analysis)
(Reporting by Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk; Enhancing by Leslie Adler and Alistair Bell)
