Egyptian villagers beaten by police

Egyptian police took about 50 villagers into custody, beat and tortured some of them, then moved them to an unknown location in an attempt to force a fugitive relative to surrender, an Egyptian human rights group claimed yesterday.

The villagers, including women, children and elderly relatives of an accused drug dealer from Saf, a village just outside Cairo, were detained on Wednesday and tortured to gain information about the wanted man, according to the Human Rights Centre for the Assistance of Prisoners.