CAIRO: The British district coroner’s inquest into the death of alleged Egyptian spy Ashraf Marwan, has been postponed until police complete ongoing inquiries.
A spokesman for Scotland Yard told Daily News Egypt that a number of inquiries are currently being made and the date of the inquest launch – which was originally due to be Sept. 4 – has been pushed back to allow for their completion.
Marwan died in suspicious circumstances on June 27, falling from the balcony of his London apartment
The death was initially deemed “non-suspicious by British police, but another spokesperson previously said that the overwhelming level of interest from both the press and other parties in Egypt prompted Scotland Yard to renew their investigation.
Debate has raged within the press and around the blogosphere over whether Marwan was a spy providing intelligence to Israel prior to the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria, or an Egyptian double agent, responsible for Israel’s intelligence failures during that war.
According to Howard Blum, the journalist who disclosed Marwan’s identity in his book, “The Eve of Destruction: The Untold Story of the Yom Kippur War, Marwan was set to reveal who he was spying for in a book he was writing.
Finding the manuscript for that book, Blum wrote in an article for the International Herald Tribune, would likely prove key to Scotland Yard’s investigation.
Among the press and public, some believe Marwan was pushed, while others suppose he became dizzy and fell. It has also been put forward that either the Egyptian or Israeli secret services forced him into suicide.
Conflicting witness accounts from friends and family who saw him in the time leading up to his death have added to the confusion.
Marwan’s sister reportedly described him to be “good spirits just hours before his death, and family members have said Marwan would never commit suicide.
An unidentified friend was reported to have said that Marwan’s health was declining, and that he could easily have lost his balance and fell.
“When every line of enquiry has been completed there will be a meeting with the coroner and a new date for the inquest will be set, the Scotland Yard spokesperson said.
