Egyptian-American Imprisoned in Egypt Says He's Been Beaten, Denied Medical Attention

Dual citizen was a spokesperson for post-coup pro-Morsi protesters

An Egyptian-American activist arrested in August claims in a letter smuggled from prison that Egyptian security personnel beat him, denied him medical attention and joked about killing detainees.

Dual citizen Mohamed Soltan, a graduate of Ohio State University, had been a press spokesperson for the protest camp in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square demanding the reinstatement of deposed President Mohamed Morsi. He was shot in the arm when security forces firing live ammunition forcibly dispersed protesters from the square on Aug. 14, killing hundreds. The government asserts that police simply responded to gunfire from the protesters, though a Human Rights Watch investigation found that the number of gunmen in the camp was small. In an interview then with TIME, Soltan said he feared he could face arrest in a public hospital, so he had the bullet removed by a private doctor. Days later, Soltan was arrested.