Egyptian cafe owner says he witnessed police beating a young man to death, describes scene

Egypt cafe owner describes police beating death

CAIRO — The owner of an Egyptian Internet cafe says he witnessed police beating a young man to death and described the killing that has outraged rights activists.

Hassan Mosbah, in a filmed interview posted online Sunday, says two police officers came into his cafe in the city of Alexandria, dragged Khaled Said out into the street and beat him to death there. Pictures of Said’s shattered face appeared on social networking sites after his death on June 6.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry claimed in a statement Saturday that the 28-year-old died after choking on a joint he swallowed when policemen tried to arrest him.