State Department Calls for Transparent Investigation in Murder outside Cybercafe in Egypt

The State Department has called for a transparent investigation into the death of Khaled Mohamed Saeed. He is the 28 year-old who was dragged out of an Internet cafe in Alexandria, Egypt last week and beaten to death in the street by police after objecting to a random ID check.

Recent reports say Khaled may have been targeted by authorities for exposing police corruption because he posted a video online showing police sharing the profits of a drug bust. The Egyptian Interior Ministry has claimed that he died choking on a joint–despite witness accounts of the police brutality.

Human Rights First has called on the United States government to express its concern to the Egyptian government regarding this incident, urging also that it defend citizen access to the Internet more broadly. This is a first step.