The young Khaled Saeed, whose death served as a rallying point for Egypt's 25 January revolution, was murdered, according to a new medical report.
Saeed was killed and then a packet of marijuana was inserted into his throat, according to the report by Egypt's chief medical examiner, Ayman Fouda.
The report, published on Wednesday by independent daily Al-Shorouk on its Facebook page, did not give further details.
Fouda's conclusion on the cause of death refutes the original conclusion of former chief medical examiner, al-Sabie Ahmed al-Sebaie, who claimed that Saeed had died after swallowing a packet of marijuana in order conceal it from police.
Many following the case of Saeed and pushing for the prosecution of his killers say that he died from head injuries suffered as a result of a brutal beating meeted out by two detectives from Sidi Gaber police station.
Saeed died in 6 June, 2010, when two police officers brutally beat him inside an internet cafe in Alexandria and in a doorway across the street. He was suspected of uploading internet video clips that showed police officers involved in corruption and torture cases.
The Egyptian government removed Sebaie from his post as chief medical examiner in May, after reports that he had fabricated medical statements that concealed torture by police forces. Fouda, who replaced Sebaie, was critical of the medical examination conducted on Saeed's corpse, stating that no examination had been made of the extent of injury to the victim's brain.
Widely circulated images of Saeed's body after his death show what appear to be extensive damage to his face and skull, consistent with a severe beating.
The Facebook page "We are all Khaled Saeed" was a rallying point for opposition groups and urged Egyptians to protest police brutality on 25 January. The protests soon developed into the nationwide uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.
The trial of the two police officers involved in Saeed's murder has been postponed to September.
