EU says official in Egypt amid researcher’s suspicious death

CAIRO (AP) — The European Union says an EU human rights official visited Egypt this week amid an outcry over the mysterious death of an economic researcher who had been detained two months ago. An EU statement says the official, Eamon Gilmore, completed a three-day visit Wednesday during which he discussed allegations of mistreatment of detained people and other violations. The visit coincided with the death in custody of Ayman Hadhoud, a well-known economic commentator, who had disappeared two months ago. Earlier this week, the Interior Ministry said he had been detained in early February. Egypt has been relentlessly silencing dissenters and clamping down on independent organizations for years with arrests and restrictions.