Alexandria--Egyptian authorities will investigate allegations that a Salafi preacher was tortured to death in Alexandria, 24 hours after being arrested by State Security Investigation officers for possible links with a suicide bombing that rocked a church in the coastal city, a lawyer said on Friday. Two independent Egyptian news websites reported on Friday that 31-year-old Sayed Bilal was tortured to death on Wednesday before the police buried him “against the consent of his family” a day later. They said that several Salafi websites have circulated photos and videos of Bilal allegedly showing signs of torture and physical abuse. Al-Masry Al-Youm could not independently verify the authenticity of the photos. The Interior Ministry could not be reached to comment on the allegations. “Alexandria District Attorney Office ordered an investigation after Bilal's family filed a complaint on Friday,” Lawyer Haitham Abu Khalil of Alexandria-based Dhahaya Center for Human Rights told Al-Masry Al-Youm. Twenty three Coptic Christians were killed when a suicide bomber targeted the Church of St. Mark and St. Peter in Alexandria in Saturday's New Year's mass. Alexandria is a stronghold of Salafis, who are blamed of inciting anti-Christian sentiments through religious sermons and television programs. Last week, authorities held 20 people for questioning over the bombing, security sources said. Conflicting reports have circulated about the authenticity of a digitally reconstructed photo of a 25-year-old man who is thought to be behind the suicide attack. Earlier this week, Egyptian authorities have hinted that al-Qaeda could be behind the attack, the deadliest against Copts in decades. Media outlets quoted security sources on Thursday as revealing that the culprit had used a 25-kilogram improvised explosive device (IED), which he possibly carried in a school bag. On Wednesday, the ministry announced the discovery of an unidentified corpse which it suspects of belonging to the suicide bomber. An Iraqi group linked to al-Qaeda threatened the Coptic Church in Egypt with attack in November and a statement on an Islamist website, posted about two weeks before the Alexandria bombing, urged Muslims to attack Coptic churches in Egypt and elsewhere.
