Frenchman killed in Egypt police custody

A Frenchman died in police custody in Cairo after he was attacked by fellow detainees, Egyptian security officials said Wednesday. Six inmates beat the man to death during a quarrel inside a cell in the Qasr al-Nil police station in central Cairo, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, Voice of Russia reported. The officials did not say when the incident occurred. The French citizen was placed in police custody after he was arrested for violating a curfew imposed by the army-backed government as part of a nationwide state of emergency. According to the independent news website Al Youm al-Saba, a preliminary post-mortem examination showed that the victim died of a skull fracture and internal bleeding. He was drunk when security personnel arrested him in the fashionable Cairo quarter of Zamalek, the report said. Last week, Egyptian authorities extended by two months the state of emergency declared in mid-August, citing security concerns. Egypt has seen deadly street violence since July when the army deposed president Mohammad Mursi after massive protests against his rule. Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood has condemned his ouster as a coup and vowed to continue their protests until he is reinstated.