Egyptian militant jailed for 15 years commits suicide in cell, judiciary official says
© AP
26.09.2007 00:05:24
(live-PR.com) - CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - An Egyptian militant imprisoned for 15 years without trial committed suicide in cell on Tuesday, a judiciary official said.
Sayed Ragab Abdullah had been jailed in 1992 for allegedly being convicted of Islamic militant groups that waged a campaign of violence against the Egyptian government. He was held without trial under
Egypt's tough emergency laws that allow long detentions.
Abdullah, 45, was in a «bad mental state» because of the imprisonment and hung himself in his cell in Abu Zaabal prison, a facility in Cairo where many militants have been held, an official from Egypt's public prosecutors office said.
The office had launched an investigation of the incident, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.
Egyptian security forces arrested tens of thousands of militants during a fierce crackdown against the wave of violence, in which Islamic groups targeted police, government officials and foreign tourists, aiming to overthrow the government. The wave of violence largely ended after 1997.
Up to 5,000 members of Islamic militant groups arrested in the 1990s are believed to still be in held in Egyptian prisons.
Sayed Ragab Abdullah had been jailed in 1992 for allegedly being convicted of Islamic militant groups that waged a campaign of violence against the Egyptian government. He was held without trial under
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Abdullah, 45, was in a «bad mental state» because of the imprisonment and hung himself in his cell in Abu Zaabal prison, a facility in Cairo where many militants have been held, an official from Egypt's public prosecutors office said.
The office had launched an investigation of the incident, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.
Egyptian security forces arrested tens of thousands of militants during a fierce crackdown against the wave of violence, in which Islamic groups targeted police, government officials and foreign tourists, aiming to overthrow the government. The wave of violence largely ended after 1997.
Up to 5,000 members of Islamic militant groups arrested in the 1990s are believed to still be in held in Egyptian prisons.
