Egypt's Popular Current announced late Saturday that forensic reports on Egyptian activist Mohamed El-Gendy have been withheld by the Qasr El-Nil prosecutor. It further added that medical reports from the hospital he was transported to prior to his death have also been withheld from Gendy's family lawyers.
On Thursday, lawyers representing Gendy's family requested from the Qasr El-Nil prosecutor the official documents in order to present them to specialised doctors to deduce the cause of death. The deputy attorney general sent them to the chief prosecutor of Qasr El-Nil who refused to grant lawyers access to the reports, the Popular Current press release explained.
The lawyers announced that they would persist in asserting their right of access to the reports and that if no reaction was forthcoming Sunday they would file a complaint with the general prosecutor demanding that the Qasr El-Nil prosecutor share the requested information.
The Popular Current — a coalition formed after the 2012 presidential elections by a majority of members of the campaign of former Nasserist candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi — stated that there was no logical explanation as to why Gendy's family's lawyers have been denied the necessary medical reports.
Gendy, 28, who was a member of the Popular Current, was reportedly rounded up along with other young protesters 25 January, the second anniversary of the Egyptian revolt against deposed president Hosni Mubarak.
Security sources said he was taken to a state security camp, interrogated and tortured, drawing parallels with the brutal tactics used by Mubarak's henchmen during his rule.
The interior ministry denied the accusations saying that Gendy was hit by a car on 28 January and taken to Cairo's Hilal Hospital where he died some days later.
That account was backed up by the assistant to Egypt's top forensic doctor, Emad El-Deib, who told Egypt's Al-Hayat channel on 12 February: "The forensic report confirmed that the death of Mohamed El-Gendy was due to a car accident and dismissed he was subjected to any torture."
The young activist's death sparked violent protests in his hometown of Gharbeya governorate in the Nile Delta as well as in other cities by protesters demanding retribution and the truth of his cause of death.
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