Another name was added to the list of those who have died while in police custody last Friday, following the death of Sa’ad Said who was allegedly tortured by police.
Investigations into Said’s death began on Saturday; the same day he was buried.
“An autopsy was performed on Said’s body at the Zeinhom morgue,” said Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, a lawyer at Al-Nadeem centre for rehabilitation of torture and violence victims. Abdel-Aziz, who is handling Said’s legal case, added that the primary forensics report noted bruises and wounds on Said’s body.
The family of the deceased has filed a report against Major Hisham Abdel Gawwad, accusing him of torturing Said to death at the Giza police station.
Said was arrested Wednesday night following a fight in his neighbourhood, Abdel Aziz said. Though Said was supposedly not involved in the fight, he was arrested and allegedly beaten to death. Said died on Friday.
Victims of torture seldom receive justice in Egypt. Abdel Aziz was hopeful that Said’s case would be different.
“At least we are trying; hopefully justice will be served,” he said.
Several social media activists have referred to Said as “the new Khaled Said”.
Khaled Said was beaten to death in June 2010 by two police officers. His death became a catalyst for the January 2011 revolution.
Ahmed Yousry, programme and workshops coordinator at the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre, stated that by the end of Morsy’s first three months in power, 33 people died in police detention.
An anti-torture campaign Nation Without Torture, was launched in October. The campaign attempts to pressure authorities on torture cases filed since 25 January 2011.
