A forensic committee stated on Wednesday that the death of activist Mohamed El-Gendy resulted from torture and not from a car accident, as a previous forensic report had asserted.

El-Gendy, 28, was a member of opposition group the Egyptian Popular Current.

He was arrested along with several protesters during anti-government rallies that took place on the second anniversary of the January 25 revolution.

Security sources later told Reuters that El-Gendy was taken to a state security camp where he was interrogated and tortured.

However, the interior ministry denied the accusations, saying that El-Gendy was hit by a car on 28 January and taken to Cairo’s Hilal Hospital where he died some days later.

On 12 February, a justice ministry forensic report was released that stated that El-Gendy’s death was due to a car crash and not to police torture.

The new forensic committee was formed on the orders of the Qasr El-Nil prosecution department and consisted of a number of prominent forensic doctors.

Amr Awad, director of the Qasr El-Nil branch of the prosecution, stated that the committee’s report indicated that El-Gendy’s body showed injuries consistent with beating and torture.

Awad said that El-Gendy's death was caused by serious bleeding in the brain, as a result of being hit on the head.

El-Gendy's death, together with other prominent cases such as that of Hamada Saber, who was beaten by security forces in an incident captured on camera, has reignited a debate in Egypt about the extent of police torture.

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