The case of Ahmed Shaaban, the Egyptian teenager who died after being arrested by police in Alexandria, is now beginning to attract attention. The BBC and al-Jazeera have both reported the story. So far, the Egyptian media are generally being more circumspect, though Youm7 website (in Arabic) and Daily News Egypt (in English) have interviewed Shaaban's family and carried lengthy reports. A Facebook page has also been set up and the Egyptian Chronicles blog continues to cover the story (here and here).

With elections less than two weeks away, the Egyptian authorities obviously don't want this case to rock the boat. They are spinning the line that Shaaban was involved in petty crime, which may limit public sympathy for him – though even if true, it wouldn't of course justify beating him to death. 

A blog post by Egyptian journalist Mohammed Abdelfattah describes some of the pressures and intimidation that Shaaban's family are facing from the security apparatus.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 16 November 2010.