Egyptian Official Commits Suicide In Prison After Being Accused of Corruption

Former secretary general of Egypt’s state council, Wael Shalaby has committed suicide in a prison cell on Monday after being detained over allegations of corruption.

The former secretary general resigned from his post on Saturday, was arrested on Sunday and given a 44-day detention pending an investigation into accepting bribes worth millions of Egyptian pounds. On Monday, news emerged that Shalaby committed suicide while in custody. Mr Shalaby's lawyer, Sayed Beheiry, told Reuters that his client hanged himself using a scarf he was wearing.

Some have speculated that Shalaby’s arrest may have been connected to the investigation of procurement manager at the State Council, Gamal El-Laban, who was found to have millions of Egyptian pounds of alleged bribes, which was photographed and quickly spread on social media.

Photo from Misrday.com