Prominent Egyptian political activist and acclaimed academic dies at 85

CAIRO (AP) — A prominent Egyptian-American academic and pro-democracy activist during the reign of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has died. Saad Eddin Ibrahim was 85. His death was announced by Egyptian state media on Friday, although few further details were given. The acclaimed academic was a leading critic of Mubarak’s autocratic government and an advocate for the rights of minority groups in Egypt, such as Coptic Christians. He spent most of the 2000s either detained or in self-imposed exile. It remains unclear where he died and what the cause of death was.