CAIRO - An international rights group has called on Egyptian authorities to stop alleged intimidation of the family of an Egyptian man purportedly tortured to death in detention following a New Year's Eve church bombing in Alexandria as his brother denied he would drop charges against State Security Police. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Amnesty International urged the Egyptian authorities to order security police to stop 'harassing and intimidating' the family of Sayyed Belal, a suspect who was allegedly tortured to death last week. Belal was detained in Alexandria on January 5 by State Security Investigations (SSI) officers, and died the next day. His family filed a complaint with the Chief Prosecutor in Alexandria alleging that he was tortured to death and have since been reportedly threatened by the police with detention and deaths of further family members. Both the death of Sayyed Belal and the reported threats against his family are very disturbing developments and point to a continuing pattern of unlawful behaviour by the SSI, which has long been accused of using torture, said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's director for the Middle East and North Africa. He added that Egyptian authorities must take immediate measures to protect the family, ensure an independent investigation into Belal's death, and safeguard other detained suspects from torture or other ill-treatment. Another young man has reportedly disappeared in detention at the same Alexandria police station and at the same time as 32-year-old Belal, who is affiliated to a Salafi (fundamentalist) group. The Prosecutor ordered an investigation into the whereabouts of Mohamed Ismail Mahmoud, who was also arrested on January 5 by SSI officers in connection with the Coptic church bombing and who was detained, like Belal, at el-Labban Police Station, according to the AI statement. Meanwhile, Ibrahim, Belal's brother, said that although he had been subject to constant threats from police, the family would not "compromise the rights of Belal who was arrested and beaten to death". Haitham Mohamadein, a lawyer with el-Nadim Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence, said that such violence was unacceptable yet it is not about Belal alone, it is about any member of an Islamist group the police believes might lead them to solving the mystery of the explosion. Human rights and Islamist groups protested against the 'murder' of Belal, condemning what they described as systematic torture of innocent people by police personnel. A group on the social networking website Facebook called for holding mourning ceremonies in all Egyptian governorates today against the torture-to-death phenomenon, which it claims has become rife in Egypt. The Ministry of the Interior says suspected wrongdoers are strictly punished if found guilty
