A young Egyptian blogger, whose family said was beaten to death by police, died of asphyxia, according to forensics doctors. "The initial report on a new autopsy ordered by the Prosecutor-General shows that Khaled Saeed had died of asphyxia caused by choking on a strange object, which after analysing was found to be a plastic packet of the green drug known as bhang," Yasser Refae, the First Attorney-General in the coastal city of Alexandria, told a press conference Wednesday. Last week, Egypt's Chief Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud assigned a three-member panel from the city's Forensic Medicine Authority with examining the body of the 28-year old blogger to determine the exact cause of his death. Saeed, an Internet activist, died outside a cybercafé in Alexandria earlier this month. His family and local eyewitnesses said two detectives had beaten him to death. The case has set off criticism from the local and international human rights groups, who blamed police for his death under the Emergency Law, which has been in force in Egypt since 1981. According to the latest forensic report, Saeed sustained injuries as a result of hitting "solid objects" while detectives were trying to restrain him. "These injuries were minor and did not cause his death," Refae quoted the report as finding out. The Ministry of the Interior had earlier said in a statement that Saeed was an ex-convict and had died when he chocked on a joint he swallowed as police attempted to arrest him. Amnesty International described Saeed's killing as “brutal” and called for an immediate, full, and independent investigation into the case.
