The body of a police conscript who died at a training camp in North Sinai shows signs of bruising, the forensic medical authority revealed on Saturday.Ahmed Khalil, a conscript at the Karim Helal police camp, was said to have been beaten to death by his officer after a disagreement during morning training.
The interior ministry, however, denied these allegations, saying Khalil died of exhaustion during training.
On Saturday, Hesham Abdel-Hamid, spokesman for Egypt's forensic medical authority, said initial examinations showed injuries and bruises scattered around Khalil's body.
He added, though, that it is difficult to determine the main reason for Khalil's death, because he was also sick when he died. However, he said that the impact of the sickness and bruises on causing the death will be clear after completing the full examination, which is expected to take a month.
Meanwhile, prosecutors are looking into the incident and have detained the officer in question for four days pending investigations.
Major General Abdel-Fattah Othman, the interior minister's deputy for public relations, told privately-owned Al-Hayat TV on Friday night that this was a "precautionary measure."
He described the relationship between conscripts and their officers as one of mutual "cordiality" and asserted that all procedures relating to the incident will be "transparent."
Police and military security training camps in Egypt are known for their harsh conditions.
In its 2014 annual report on usage of torture worldwide, released in May, Amnesty International said that torture remains "endemic" in Egypt. This is particularly recurrent against civilians in police stations
