Egypt denies responsibility for death of Egyptian-American prisoner

   CAIRO, Jan. 15-- The Egyptian Interior Ministry denied on Tuesday responsibility for the death of an Egyptian-American prisoner who was on hunger strike while serving a 15-year jail term over terror charges.
   Mostafa Kassem, 54, had been in custody since 2013 and he was on hunger strike to protest his imprisonment before his death on Monday in a hospital in Cairo.
   "He insisted to continue a hunger strike despite advising him several times about how dangerous it is to his health, especially that he was a diabetic," said the Egyptian Interior Ministry in a statement.
   "All medical and legal measures have been taken to prevent him from hurting himself," said the statement, noting that he used to be visited at prison by his family members.
   With regards to the dual citizen's imprisonment, the statement said that Kassem was normally and fairly tried before a judge.
   The Egyptian ministry also denied the U.S. claims that Kassem's death was "avoidable." 
   On Monday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker lamented Kassem's death, saying it was "needless, tragic and avoidable."
   Kassem was arrested in 2013 in Cairo near a sit-in held by supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, whose Muslim Brotherhood group is currently blacklisted in Egypt as a terrorist organization. 
   He was accused of inciting vandalism and violence and was sentenced in September 2018 to 15 years in jail. Xinhau