American Detainee found hunged in Egypt police cell

An American detained in Egypt for more than a month was found hanged in his prison cell on Sunday after committing suicide, security officials said.

They said the body of James Henry, 55, who told authorities he was a “retired officer”, was found at noon at Ismailiya Awal police station.

A prosecutor had decided on Saturday to extend his detention for 30 more days, the interior ministry said in a statement.

The US embassy in Cairo confirmed “that a US citizen prisoner in Ismailiya died from an apparent suicide”.

“The embassy is in contact with authorities regarding the case and continues to provide all consular services,” an embassy official told AFP.

A report from the prosecutor’s office, forwarded to journalists by the foreign ministry, said Henry had hanged himself with a shoelace and a belt.

The interior ministry said Henry was arrested on August 27 in Sheikh Zuwayid in a security sweep after a car bomb targeted the police station in the north Sinai town.

He was found in the possession of a “computer and maps of important installations”.

They said he was detained for violating a curfew imposed because of the wave of political unrest sweeping the country.

Henry was stopped on the road between El-Arish and Rafah in North Sinai and told authorities he was on his way to the neighbouring Gaza Strip.

Officials told AFP that a US embassy delegation had visited Henry in his cell last week.

Henry was the second known foreigner to die in an Egyptian prison since a popular military coup overthrew president Mohamed Morsi in July, leading to a state of emergency and a curfew to deal with an Islamist backlash.

In September, a French citizen was beaten to death by cellmates in a Cairo jail. He had apparently been arrested at a checkpoint.