American Commits Suicide in Egyptian Prison: Officials

A US citizen arrested in Egypt in relation to a car bombing has been found dead in his cell at an Egyptian police station, after apparently hanging himself with his shoelace and belt, according to local officials. James Lunn, 55, was taken in by Egyptian police over a month ago after he was found in possession of a "computer and maps of important installations" following a car bomb explosion in a North Sinai town. The day he died, a prosecutor had just extended his detention for another 30 days, AFP reports.

"The duty officer in the Awal Police Station in Ismailia, while passing by the administrative detention room where the accused was being held alone, found that the accused had committed suicide by hanging himself from the bathroom door," Egypt's Interior Ministry says in a statement, per CNN. The US State Department says it had been "in regular touch" with Lunn since his arrest, and a consular official visited him last week. "At no time did Mr Lunn claim to our consular personnel that he had been subjected to any form of maltreatment," says a department spokesperson, per AFP. (More Egypt stories.)