Foreign Ministry monitors investigation into death of Egyptian researcher in France

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry is closely following the investigation into the death of Egyptian researcher Reem Hamed, who died in France on Thursday, August 22.

In a statement on Sunday, the ministry expressed its deep sadness over Hamed's death and called on the French authorities to provide details as soon as possible.

The Egyptian Consulate General in Paris immediately contacted the French authorities to investigate the circumstances of Hamed's death after receiving news of her death.

Upon learning of the incident, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty instructed the Consulate General in Paris to closely monitor the investigation and obtain a report from the French authorities on the cause of death. He also instructed the consulate to expedite the necessary procedures to obtain a death certificate and to return Hamed's remains to Egypt once the investigation is completed.

Hamed's death has sparked controversy on social media, especially after several alleged Facebook posts attributed to the researcher went viral.

The posts suggested that she was being stalked and threatened and raised doubts about the circumstances of her death.

The Egyptian Consulate in Paris is closely monitoring the situation after these alleged Facebook posts attributed to Hamed were circulated and widely shared on social media.

The alleged posts detail how she was being watched by unknown people and that her devices were being monitored. They also mention threats related to her research.

Although the posts do not appear on Hamed's actual Facebook profile, they are said to have been deleted from her personal social media account.

In the alleged posts, Hamed claimed she was being monitored, both by individuals and through monitoring her devices. She also said she had been threatened because of her research, without providing further details.

The alleged posts also revealed that Hamed had been the victim of an assassination attempt and surveillance by her neighbor, who had sprayed her apartment door with a sedative, causing her to experience heart palpitations and shortness of breath.

Hamed was an Egyptian PhD student who obtained her bachelor's degree in agriculture with a minor in biotechnology from Cairo University in 2017. She then obtained a master's degree in biotechnology from Paris-Saclay University and moved to France to work as a resident researcher.