By Heba Afify and Mohamed Effat
CAIRO: The Attorney General of the Alexandria Appeals Prosecution denied media reports that the investigation into the death of 19-year-old Ahmed Shaaban was closed.
The family of the deceased accused police officers at Sidi Gaber police station in Alexandria of torturing Shaaban to death after his body was discovered in the Mahmoudia Canal on Nov. 11 — four days after Shaaban was chased by police for allegedly stealing a mobile phone.
Several media reports over the past few days claimed that Attorney General Yasser El-Rifaei had closed the Shaaban case, with investigations concluding that Shaaban was not tortured or murdered.
El-Rifaei, however, told Daily News Egypt that these media reports are entirely false, and that the investigation is still underway.
Mina Gerges Kamel, one of the lawyers representing Shaaban’s family, also confirmed that the case is still open.
According to Kamel, the Shaaban family’s lawyers are currently awaiting the results of a forensics report that will determine both the timing and the causes of the injuries found on Shaaban’s body.
He added that Ahmed Farag, a key witness in the case, has not yet testified, as he is still in police custody over the same alleged mobile phone theft that found Shaaban in trouble with the police. Believed to be Shaaban’s accomplice in the alleged crime, Farag was apprehended during the four-day period in which Shaaban’s whereabouts were unknown to his family.
Kamel stated this is not the only false information that has been published about the case. A recent newspaper article quoted Shaaban’s brother as saying that he died a natural death caused by a heart attack — a quote that Shaaban’s brother denies.
A report by state media had quoted Shaaban’s deceased father as saying his son wasn’t murdered.
“There are other sides that got involved in the case,” said Kamel. “Everyone is spreading rumors that serve their own interests.”
Naglaa, Shaaban’s sister and the person who originally filed the report to the police, said that the prosecution has assured her that the media reports about her brother’s case that have been released as of late are totally untrue.
Shaaban’s uncle denied allegations made by the Nassar Center for Law and Human Rights (NCLHR) that the Shaaban family contacted them to file an appeal against the decision to close the case.
Shaaban’s uncle told Daily News Egypt that the family never contacted the NCLHR, and that the family visited the prosecution on Saturday and found new developments in the case.
Kamel told Daily News Egypt that even though media reports are false, he is afraid they might be an indication of how the case will eventually conclude. Kamel noted that the case’s key witness is in police custody and may not be released and permitted to testify in court.
Kamel also believes that the anticipated forensics analysis will end up being “similar to the ones issued in similar cases [lately],” referring to the Khaled Saeid case in which the 28-year-old was allegedly beaten to death in June by officers from the very same Sidi Gaber police station.
