Gamal Mubarak, head of the National Democratic Party (NDP)'s influential policies committee, for the first time commented on the death of Khaled Saeed, the young Egyptian man allegedly beaten to death by policemen on 7 June. According to Reuters, the 46-year-old son of President Hosni Mubarak stated that “the party insists on the accountability of any wrongdoer within the framework of justice, transparency and the rule of law.” He added that “respect for human rights and the fight against corruption” remained NDP priorities. The comments constituted the first official statement by NDP officials on the death of the young man from Alexandria--an event that has led to protests by human rights groups, citizens and bloggers and reignited discussion about police brutality and the necessity of ending Egypt's longstanding emergency law, in force since 1981. According to the International Federation of Human Rights, “the emergency law is a tool in the hands of the executive power to storm many basic rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Egyptian Constitution.” Under the emergency law, policemen were able to physically search Khaled without stated reason or warrant. According to Egyptian bloggers and rights groups, Saeed was killed because he posted a video on the Internet showing two policemen sharing the spoils of a drug bust. He was tortured and his body was later left in the street. According to official autopsies, Saeed had choked to death on a packet of marijuana. Following investigations, however, the two policemen involved are now facing trial. The timing of the younger Mubarak's statement has raised questions, since it follows a full month of official silence about the event, despite numerous popular demonstrations organized by citizens demanding that the government take a position on the issue. The 82-year-old President Hosni Mubarak has not officially announced whether he plans to run in upcoming presidential elections slated for late next year, but many people see his son as the most suitable candidate to replace him. Diaa Rashwan, a senior analyst at the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Gamal Mubarak's statements had nothing to do with his presidential ambitions. Rather, said Rashwan, the statements represented "a late attempt to correct his and his party's image, which has been strongly damaged by the long silence." "Gamal Mubarak wants to show that his party opposes torture and supports human rights in general as well as in this specific case," he added. "Because of the official position [which ruled out the possibility that Saeed had been killed by policemen], he didn't release official statements earlier, but when he realized how his image had been damaged by this--and because of pressure from outside and inside--he decided to speak out." "But, unfortunately," Rashwan said, "it's too late."
