CAIRO: The British authorities have announced the closing of the investigations into the mysterious death of controversial Egyptian billionaire Ashraf Marwan last week. Marwan, the son-in-law of former President Gamal Abdel Nasser, died at the age of 63 causing frenzy in the local and international media as well as online blogs. The deceased, who was found dead on the floor in front of his apartment building, was suspected to have committed suicide or been purposely pushed off his apartment s balcony. The announcement to close the investigation which has been underway for one week officially eliminates the probability that Marwan was murdered. According to the United Press International Marwan s death has not been identified as a homicide. In cases of those types [Marwan s death], it is really hard to predict whether the case was closed because there was no evidence or for political reasons to protect certain entities and their interests, said Gamal Eid, executive director for the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, to The Daily Star Egypt. We will not be able to know the truth at this point, but maybe in the future we can know what actually happened, Eid added. The announcement coincided with a statement by President Hosni Mubarak saying that Marwan "was a real Egyptian patriot and was not a spy to any party at all, reported the Associated Press. Mubarak s statement was a response to what has been published in the media about Marwan being a double agent for Israeli and Egyptian intelligence during Israel's war with Egypt and Syria. General Eli Zeira, who headed the Israeli military intelligence in 1973, alleged that Marwan was a double agent for Israeli and Egyptian intelligence during the 1973 October war. According Haaretz newspaper, Zeira released Marwan's name to the press in 2003 as a double agent who betrayed Israeli intelligence, which put his life in danger.
