International rights watchdog Amnesty International has called on the Egyptian authorities to investigate the death of a young man allegedly tortured to death at a police station in Alexandria. The body of Ahmed Mohamed Shaaban, 19, was found in the Mahmoudiya Canal in Alexandria on Saturday. Security sources said Shaaban and a colleague had snatched a woman's handbag in the Semouha district before running away. According to the official account, pedestrians chased the pair and caught Shabaan's colleague. Police claim that Shaaban could have fallen and drowned in the canal while attempting to elude capture by police. But Shaaban's family say he had been on his way home from a wedding when he was stopped by police at a checkpoint and that a fight had erupted when Shabaan refused to submit to a search. Three days after his arrest, the family was called and told that his jacket and mobile phone had been found in the canal. Upon the return of the young man's body, the family noticed signs of torture on his body, which they accuse police of inflicting. Amnesty International was told that police had ordered Shaaban's family to bury his body immediately without a funeral. Members of the security forces are also said to have accompanied the family at the burial and to have been stationed near the family's home afterward. Ahmed Farag Labib, Shaaban's friend with whom he was arrested, is currently in custody and has been allegedly denied access to his family and lawyers. “These disturbing allegations of enforced disappearance and death in custody, and possible unlawful killing by police, must be immediately and fully investigated by an independent body,” said Malcom Smart, Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa director. "The Egyptian authorities must ensure that Ahmed Farrag Labib is protected against possible torture or other mistreatment, and not intimidated by those detaining him. His evidence about what occurred on 7 November [when he and Shabaan were arrested] is likely to be crucial to uncovering the truth,” he added. Amnesty International related the event to the case of Khaled Saeed, who was allegedly beaten to death by two police officers from the same station in Alexandria in which Shaaban was reportedly tortured. Both policemen charged in the Khaled Saeed case are currently facing trial.
