CAIRO-The State-backed National Council for Human Rights has demanded stricter measures against torture and alleged police abuses. During a meeting on Wednesday night attended by 16 of the watchdog's 26 members, the council called for enforcing water-tight measures to prevent torture and bring culprits to justice. The council is headed by Boutros Ghali, the former UN chief. The call was made a few weeks after the death of a blogger in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria allgedly after having been beaten by police. The family of Khaled Saeed and local eyewitnesses say the 28-year-old man had been beaten to death by two policemen. The Ministry of the Interior had 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.
