Yousef Abu Zuhri, a Hamas member and brother of the movement's spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri, died in an Egyptian jail. Hamas is outraged, claiming he was tortured to death.
In a press conference held Tuesday with the bereaved brother, Hamas harshly condemned Yousef's death, calling it "the ugly crime." Sami Abu Zuhri and Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum demanded Egyptian leadership "to investigate this serious crime and put those responsible on trial."
The two spokesmen criticized the Egyptian leadership for detaining Hamas members. They demanded that they "release all the Mujahiddin" imprisoned in Egypt ,most prominent of whom is Ayman Nofal, and a number of other senior officials from Hamas' military wing who were arrested in Egyptian territory after breaking through the border fence in Rafah some two years ago.
Barhoum and Abu Zuhri said that the deceased brother recently sent messages asking someone to save his life, claiming he was collapsing under heavy torture.
It is as of yet unclear how this affair will affect Egypt's efforts to reconcile between Fatah and Hamas or their mediation in negotiations to release captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit .