Hisham Abdel-Hamid, head of the Forensic Medicine Authority, said on Sunday it will take three weeks to complete the autopsy on Magdi Makeen, the 50-year-old Coptic fish vendor allegedly tortured to death inside Al-Amiriya Police Station shortly after being arrested on 13 November. "We finished the visual examination but we will not start the histocompatibility examination, the microscopic one, before two weeks from now," said Abdel-Hamid, adding that the samples taken from his body must be submerged in a formaldehyde solution for at least two weeks before being examined. Makeen was arrested while riding his cart along with two other companions. According to Makeen's family he was detained after getting into an argument with a policeman from Al-Amiriya Police Station. The day after Makeen's arrest his family was told Makeen's body was being held at the morgue. Contradictory reports about the incident have surfaced. The Interior Ministry alleges Makeen and his two companions were arrested in possession of 2,000 Tramadol pills. Officials say Makeen fainted in the police station following his arrest and died while being transferred to Al-Zeitoun Hospital. Another story says Makeen died when his cart crashed during a police chase. Al-Zeitoun Hospital's initial autopsy report says, “Makeen was already dead when he arrived.” The hospital denies finding any signs of torture on the body and says complications resulting from diabetes are the most likely cause of death. Amir Wassef, a lawyer following the case, told Dream TV channel that witnesses inside Al-Amiriya Police Station have confirmed that Makeen was tortured. Ali Al-Halawani, another lawyer involved in the case, says Makeen's family found unmistakeable signs of “beating and lynching” when they viewed his body at the hospital. “The public prosecution is investigating the case and we are waiting the outcome of the investigation. The ministry did not suspend any policeman because we do not pre-empt the results of investigations,” says Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Tarek Atiya. “The ministry has launched an internal administrative investigation into the case. As an institution, it is not in our interests to cover up for police officers who commit crimes.” Article 52 of Egypt's 2014 Constitution states that "torture in all its forms is a crime, with no statute of limitations." Rotana Masriya TV channel aired a report about the case during which Makeen's son sent threatening words to the policeman accused of torturing his father. "I will not give up on my father's right even if it will cost my life. If the autopsy report comes out fraud I will kill the officer." On Friday a delegation from parliament's Human Rights Committee, accompanied by high-ranking Interior Ministry officials, visited Al-Amiriya Police Station. Following the visit members of the delegation demanded the autopsy report be speeded up and police officers accused in the case be suspended until investigations are completed. Political parties, public figures, journalists and human rights activists have condemned the incident and expressed solidarity with Makeen's family. Anba Macarius, Bishop of Minya governorate described the incident as “cruel torture” after visiting the victim's family in Cairo. Macarius issued a statement saying the tragedy should pre-empt “a review of accusations of torture inside police stations in order to preserve public trust in the police apparatus”. This year has seen a string of allegations of police abuse against civilians. Bishop Refaat Fathi, secretary-general of the Council of the Egyptian Churches, said the council would not intervene in the case. “Makeen is an Egyptian citizen and it is up to the state and official bodies to investigate the circumstances of his death,” said Fathi in a statement. Photos of Makeen's body with signs of torture have been circulating on social media platforms. A trending hashtag with the victim's name went viral, with posts calling for an end to police brutality and the prosecution of those who tortured Makeen to death. The uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak began on 25 January 2011, celebrated by the Mubarak regime as National Police Day. The tenure of Mubarak's interior minister Habib Al-Adli was characterised by mass torture, corruption and the brutal oppression of anyone opposed to the regime. Hundreds of complaints of torture in police custody and detention centres have been documented by non-governmental organisations. Incidents of police abuse, including cases of death in detention, are reported every month. Last week a policeman was sentenced to life for fatally shooting a tea vendor in April. The court found the policeman guilty of murdering Mostafa Mohamed and wounding two passers-by in the Cairo suburb of Rehab City after Mohamed demanded the policeman pay for his tea. In August a policeman shot dead a microbus driver in the south-eastern Cairo district of Maadi after his colleague's vehicle collided with the microbus. Earlier this year policeman Mostafa Abdel-Hassib shot dead a taxi driver in Cairo's Darb Al-Ahmar following a dispute over the fare. On Monday Adel Wahid, allegedly was arrested while carrying a large quantity of heroin. Wahid died at Al-Badrashin Police Station. The prosecution has ordered an investigation into the incident.
