The cause of death of Mohamed Abdel Fattah Al Naggar, a young Egyptian who died in a hospital in Germany following his arrest, has been deemed to have been a suicide as originally reported by German officials, according to a statement from an official at Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to Aswat Masriya. The man’s father had suspected and claimed that his son had died as a result of torture by German police, pointing to the cremation of his son’s body as an indication of wrongful death. It has come to light, according to the statement by the MFA official, that Abdel Fattah Al Naggar had left in his suicide note specific instructions that his body be cremated and not be repatriated to Egypt, and had previously signed a request that he did not want the Egyptian consulate to be notified of his arrest, nor that his family be contacted in case of emergency.

…After reportedly attempting to hang himself in prison on 16 June, the man later died in a hospital in Essen less than a week later. German authorities reportedly followed all his instructions to the letter, incensing MFA officials, who insist that despite the request, German officials should have taken into consideration the man’s religion and country of origin, and consulted with the Egyptian consulate before undertaking the cremation. Abdel Fattah Al Naggar had been arrested for shoplifting in February. The Egyptian consul is set to meet with general prosecution officials on Thursday.