⚠️ The video showing signs of torture is available at the end of this report and is not recommended for sensitive viewers.
📹 A full testimony by the victim’s mother can also be viewed at the end of the report.
The death of 26-year-old Mahmoud Mohamed Asaad has sparked widespread outrage on social media after his family accused Egypt’s Ministry of Interior of causing his death inside Al-Khalifa Police Station, just weeks after he was arrested in the Imam Al-Shafi’i area during the first week of Ramadan.
Zawia3 contacted the victim’s family to gather details of the incident, which began with his arrest on the 7th of Ramadan and ended with the announcement of his death on the evening of Saturday, April 12.
In a funeral attended by hundreds of relatives and neighbors, Mahmoud’s body was laid to rest following afternoon prayers on Sunday, April 13. During the funeral, the victim’s family shared a video recorded inside the morgue showing clear signs of physical assault on his body prior to death.
Following the release of the video, the family called on President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to intervene and hold those responsible for their son’s death accountable, accusing officers and security personnel at Al-Khalifa Police Station of beating and torturing Mahmoud to death.
In her interview with Zawia3, Mahmoud’s mother recounted the moment of his arrest, saying:
“It was the seventh day of Ramadan. Mahmoud, his sister, and I went out to buy suhoor in the Imam Al-Shafi’i area. Suddenly, a police officer stopped Mahmoud and asked him to go with him. He took my son away in a tuk-tuk without searching him or even accusing him of anything. Mahmoud insisted on being searched before going with the officer, but the officer refused and told him to come quietly.”
She continued: “At the same time, other young men were also being arrested on the same street. A few hours after Mahmoud was taken, we found out that he had been transferred to Al-Khalifa Police Station, where a report was filed accusing him of drug possession and trafficking.”
She added: “We tried to send food and some supplies to him after his detention, but the officers told us he had been moved to the disciplinary cell without giving any reasons. This continued for several days. A day before his death, I tried to visit him. One of the officers initially agreed to let me see him, but after a brief conversation with another officer, he changed his mind and denied the visit. On Saturday morning, I received news of my son’s death, after he failed to appear before the prosecution for interrogation.”
Interior Ministry Denies the Incident
Just hours after news of Mahmoud’s death at Al-Khalifa Police Station spread and his family accused officers of torturing him to death, Egypt’s Ministry of Interior issued a statement via its official Facebook page denying that the 26-year-old had been subjected to torture while in custody.
Although the statement did not mention the opening of any formal investigation into the family’s claims, it said: “The incident involved the young man being held in custody by order of the Public Prosecution on charges of drug trafficking. On April 12, he reportedly became agitated in his cell and assaulted other inmates, which led to a fight. He was then transferred to another holding cell, where he clashed with another detainee before being restrained. Later, he felt unwell and was transferred to the hospital for treatment, where he died.” The statement added that “legal procedures were followed, and the Public Prosecution was notified at the time.”
This incident comes just days after the killing of two young men—Youssef Eid Fadl Al-Sarhani and Farag Rabash Al-Fazari—by a National Security officer in the Nageela area of Marsa Matrouh, after they had voluntarily surrendered in an effort to secure the release of several women detained in connection with the deaths of three police officers during an altercation with a known offender on April 9.
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New Revelations
Esraa Khalifa, the victim’s lawyer and his maternal cousin, responded to the Interior Ministry’s statement, describing it as “false and misleading.” She added: “I tried to reply to the official post on their Facebook page, but my comment was deleted, and I was blocked from accessing the page again.”
Speaking to Zawia3, she said: “Mahmoud was arrested while buying suhoor with his mother in the Imam Al-Shafi’i area. Several other young men were arrested at the same time, and the exact same charges were filed against them—all accused of drug possession and trafficking using identical wording. After the arrests, they were rounded up in a microbus and transferred to Al-Khalifa Police Station.”
She continued: “I approached the head of investigations and requested surveillance footage from the camera mounted above a nearby restaurant, which would prove Mahmoud was arrested while with his mother and without being searched. I hoped this could prevent the case from escalating. Although the investigator initially agreed, I was later shocked when a police team came and confiscated the recording equipment and the footage, which has since disappeared.”
The lawyer also revealed: “I tried to convince Mahmoud’s mother to send telegrams to the Public Prosecutor and the Interior Minister to escalate the case, but she hesitated, fearing retaliation against her son or his brother due to what she described as being ‘anti-government.’ She hoped the matter would be resolved peacefully.”
She added: “Mahmoud was remanded in custody and held at Al-Khalifa station. From the first day of Eid al-Fitr, all visits were banned. On Thursday, April 10, his mother tried to visit him and bring supplies, but was told he had been placed in solitary confinement due to a disciplinary issue. She pleaded with a sympathetic officer to let her see him. He initially agreed, but after speaking to another officer, changed his mind and said she would be allowed to visit on Saturday.”
The lawyer continued: “Mahmoud was supposed to appear before the prosecution on Saturday to appeal his pretrial detention. We were hoping to expedite the hearing and avoid him spending more time in custody. But we were shocked to learn that he didn’t appear. When I contacted the station, I was told that there was no official request or notice in his name—completely contradicting the facts.”
She said: “That’s when we began to worry. I sensed something was seriously wrong, but never imagined it would end in death.”
The lawyer recalled that Mahmoud’s aunt went to the police station to check on him. Shortly after her arrival, she called the victim’s mother and asked her to come to the station with Mahmoud’s father. Upon their arrival, the officers’ behavior was markedly different—they appeared unusually conciliatory compared to previous visits, which only heightened the family’s alarm.
The police chief then told the mother that her son had suffered a sudden illness and was transferred to Al-Muneera Hospital, assuring her that “his condition was improving.” However, after repeated demands for information and a chance to see him, the police chief finally informed her that Mahmoud had died—saying simply, “May God have mercy on him.”
A Cover-up Attempt?
The family’s lawyer stated: “The police chief stayed with the mother for over an hour, trying to convince her to approve the burial and sign off on the paperwork, insisting that ‘burying the dead is a form of dignity.’ He tried to accelerate the burial before any questions could be raised. But the family refused to sign anything and decided to pursue legal action.”
She added: “Even after Mahmoud’s body was taken to the morgue, no family member was allowed to see him or understand what had happened. Eventually, we managed to enter unofficially and were shocked to find visible signs of beating and torture on his body. This is what appeared in the video his brother recorded and shared online. We filmed it quickly, without official permission, fearing we’d be stopped. We saw whip marks on Mahmoud’s back but didn’t have time to record everything.”
The lawyer confirmed that the images were submitted to the Public Prosecution, but they have not been allowed to obtain a copy of the official case file. “When I asked the prosecutor for access—as the family’s lawyer—he told me I needed to submit a formal request to the Chief Prosecutor, who could approve or reject it at his discretion,” she said. “I was not allowed to attend the interrogation of the mother and father, nor was I permitted to record their statements—despite representing the family.”
She explained that the prosecution interrogation lasted from 5 p.m. on Saturday until 8 a.m. Sunday, April 13.
After the video went viral, the prosecutor visited the detention area at Al-Khalifa Police Station and interviewed the inmates who had been held with Mahmoud. Several of them confirmed that he was beaten and tortured on two occasions—first by an officer identified as (M. Sh.), and again on Thursday by another officer (M. S.), assisted by three police officers. That was the day Mahmoud took his last breath.
The detainees testified that Mahmoud was hung by his wrists on the cell door as a warning to the others. They said he was strangled using his personal towel. When he collapsed, the guards assumed he had merely fainted and moved him to solitary confinement—where he died.
The lawyer stated that the towel was seized by the prosecution as evidence. However, the Forensic Authority has since claimed they never received it and that the item remains with the prosecution, as of this report’s publication.
On Sunday morning, the prosecution summoned the officers and guards from Al-Khalifa Station to give their statements—all of which aligned with the Ministry of Interior’s official version of events.
The lawyer concluded: “Is it believable that a prisoner suffering a medical emergency would be taken to a government hospital like Al-Muneera without any formal documentation of his admission or discharge?” She emphasized that, based on their accounts, he entered the hospital alive and left dead. “The only document we received was from the morgue to the prosecution—to initiate an investigation into his death.”
Impunity and the Law
The Egyptian Network for Human Rights (an independent NGO) issued a statement noting that it has documented numerous deaths of citizens in prisons and police stations across Egypt in recent years, without accountability. This, it said, has entrenched a culture of impunity, especially amid the Public Prosecution’s failure to monitor and inspect detention centers.
The group warned that impunity leads to more deaths and further fuels violence within Egyptian society.
Article 55 of the Egyptian Constitution states:
“Anyone who is arrested, detained, or deprived of freedom must be treated in a manner that preserves human dignity. Torture, intimidation, coercion, and physical or psychological harm are prohibited. Detention must occur in humane and hygienic places designated for such purposes. The state is obliged to provide accessibility for persons with disabilities. Violating any of this is a crime punishable by law.”
Article 52 further stipulates:
“Torture in all its forms is a crime that is not subject to statute of limitations.”
