Hamas official threatens legal action against Cairo

Hamas Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri threatened to file a grievance against Cairo with an international court for desecrating the remains of his brother, who died while serving a prison sentence in Egypt. Zuhri said that his brother’s death was a result of torture and that the body was not intact when it was returned to the family.

The brother, a known Hamas operative, died of what Egyptian authorities claimed to be natural causes, two weeks ago. Both the family and the resistance group blamed Cairo for torturing him to death, further claiming that in the days prior to his death, he sent family messages begging them to help him before he succumbs to torture.

In a Hamas press conference held after the death was announced, the group slammed “the ugly crime,” demanding Egyptian leadership “probe this grievous crime and prosecute the offenders.” Zuhri rejected the Egyptian Prosecution’s autopsy report as false: “Why was an autopsy performed without the family’s knowledge or presence? Why were parts of the body taken before it was returned to us?

“Why did it take (Egypt) four days to inform us of the death? We learned of it from other inmates in the prison. “The report will not close this case,” he added. “We are gearing to address the situation through legal channels and international human rights organizations.” Egyptian authorities rejected the accusations as baseless.