What America gets with a few billion dollars of aid every year:
Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the death of Khaled Mohammed Said, a 28-year-old human rights activist who is widely alleged to have been beaten to death by police in Alexandria on 6 June, and calls for an independent and transparent enquiry.
The prosecutor-general’s decision on 16 June to order a new autopsy is a positive move but is not enough. There are two very different versions of Said’s death and only an independent investigation will serve to shed light on this tragedy.
“Said probably lost his life for denouncing police corruption,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Courageous bloggers and netizens often expose police abuses online although they are risking reprisals. The authorities do not however take sufficiently firm measures to put a stop to the violence.”
The press freedom organisation added: “The impunity must stop. The authorities cannot keep using the state of emergency law to block the demands for justice. The international community must put pressure on the government in order to ensure that Said’s presumed murderers are tried and punished without delay.”
An Internet café owner said Said was beaten to death in the street after being arrested inside the café by two plain-clothes policemen. According to his family and local human rights organisations, he was killed after posting a video online that showed police sharing the profits after a drug deal.