The British police is reopening the investigation into the death of Ashraf Marawan, at a time when the Egyptian expatriate community has expressed scepticism over claims that he committed suicide, reports Abdel-Rahman El-Sayed from London The British police has reopened the investigation in the death of Egyptian billionaire Ashraf Marawan, despite its having previously issued a report quoting witnesses claiming that he had committed suicide. Sources close to Scotland Yard told Al-Ahram Weekly that the decision to reopen the investigation was in response to a request from the Egyptian expatriate community in the UK. The Weekly has also learned that Tareq Ghaffur, the assistant police commissioner has asked Commander David Johnston of Scotland Yard's Homicide and Serious Crimes Department to undertake the investigation. These developments come in the wake of Scotland Yard's announcement last week that Marawan's death last month was "not suspicious". The findings had been received by members of the Egyptian community in London with incredulity. Marawan, 62, had been found dead in the communal gardens of Carlton House Terrace, where his flat is located, on 27 June. Scotland Yard, at the time, had described the witnesses who came forward as "independent". The Egyptian Association in Britain (EAB) had received formal notification from Chief Inspector Paul Switzer that David Johnston, the Metropolitan Police's commander of the Homicide and Serious Crime division, had closed the investigation into Marawan's death. A spokesman from Scotland Yard had said that there was consultation over the final report between the forensic doctors supervising the postmortem and the police. However, Mustafa Ragab, chairman of the Egyptian Association in the UK EAUK, sent a message to Ghaffur, saying that there remain "unanswered questions" regarding the circumstances surrounding Marawan's death. Ragab, who is also chair of the Black and Ethnic Minority Commission of Westminster Borough Council, had earlier asked Ghaffur to meet the Egyptian community to discuss its concerns over the police investigation. "The circumstances surrounding the incident and the position and the personality of Dr Ashraf Marawan are, believe many members, at odds with the police findings. Tension is high and I still recommend that a meeting with community members will help," Ragab said in a message to Ghaffur's office. The inquest into Marawan's death opens on 15 August at Westminster Coroner's Court.
