Investigation Report

 

Death Under Investigation: Poverty, Negligence kill Egyptian Champion

Documented Investigation

 

Poverty pushed him to risk life and limb for keeping what he has achieved over the training years. He wanted to become a professional player in cycling and keep his family away from poverty to live a decent life.

 

This is Islam Nasser Rajaie, the member of the Egyptian National Cycling Team, who died of a heart attack at The African Championships in South Africa on March 20, 2017.

 

Nasser was one of the Athletes who has been prepared to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He won the Egyptian National Cycling championship in 2016 by 8 minutes ahead of his closest rival, in what was described by his colleagues and the Egyptian Cycling Federation’s president as an “Achievement”. He topped the African Championship race in South Africa until he died before the final curtain falls.

 

Dr. Wagih Azzam, President of the Egyptian Cycling Federation (ECF), and Mr. Hisham Hatab, head of the Egyptian Olympic Committee, have been trying to confirm that Nasser was healthy and ready to take part in the championships.

 

However, YallaKora has investigated the incident to discover further details about Nasser’s case.

 

Death Camp

 

The team camp was held before traveling to South Africa in February 2017. The Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports notified the Egyptian Federation that it would not afford the costs of the trip according to an earlier decision which was made due to the lack of foreign currency (dollars). Consequently, the federation would pay the costs and Coach Mohamed Ibrahim decided that three players would travel; Nasser and two other female players.

 

"The three players were told the decision without our knowledge,” an unnamed female player told Yallakora. "Islam felt dizzy during the last camp, and stopped more than once during the training."

 

Another player, called “A. R”, confirmed that Nasser felt dizziness before traveling but he had insisted to complete and finish the training.

Feared of the seriousness of the accident and the reprisal of president of the Federation, as they said, one of the two players asked not to mention her name and the other asked just to use her initials only.

 

This incident, where Nasser lost consciousness was not the first. He had the same incident in September 2015 during a training camp in Switzerland, where the headquarters of the international federation of the game is located.

"Nasser was fainting more than once, one of them was in Switzerland in August 2015, before being moved to the UCI Medical Center,” Islam Shawki, a teammate who accompanied Nasser in Switzerland, said in exclusive statements. “Doctors issued a medical report, asking him to stop playing because of a congenital defect”.

 

We met Dr. Azzam, at the Federation Headquarters, where he has shown us Nasser’s medical reports, but in fact, he gave us an uncertified Arabic translation of the Swiss report, for the original document written in French, he said: “You must trust us”, without giving us the original report.

 

Dr. Azzam is also the President of both the African Cycling Confederation and Vice-President of the UCI.

 

We have contacted Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), that is based in Aigle, Switzerland, for the original report, but received no response yet.

 

According to the medical reports presented by the president of the Federation, Nasser was fit to practice sports and have a healthy heart.

 

https://youtu.be/fAdteqUFDFU

 

Dr. Azzam said: “You must trust us”, without giving us the original report.

 

Mr. Hatab, who told us over a telephone call, that Nasser’s death in South Africa has been investigated, and the Cycling Federation did everything necessary to the player, confirming his knowledge of all reports, but he did not confirm his knowledge of the original copy of the French report, because, as he said, he was not familiar with the medical terminology.

 

We have also asked Mr. Hatab to be briefed on the death certificate and asked him to send us all the medical reports, including the Swiss report, but he declined to answer to his phone since that call.

 

The reason of death in Nasser’s death certificate was “under investigation” in which Mr. Hatab, was not aware of it, that is why we asked him to be briefed on the certificate. We reported that supported by documents.

 

Islam Shawki, Naser's teammate, said that the report issued by the UCI, asked him to temporarily stop playing: "Nasser was prevented from the training by the Doctors, and they put him under accurate examination through a device installed on his body for 48 hours to check his breathing and his heart, then they asked him to undergo more accurate medical tests In Egypt as the return date to Cairo was due, and his visa to Switzerland was ended."

 

“Tests in Egypt are inaccurate, contrary to Switzerland,” Islam Shawki said, describing the treatment in Egypt, adding that Nasser already stayed away from participating in the competitions.

 

During a press conference to reveal the circumstances of the death, Mr. Azzam said that Nasser underwent examinations in Sharm El-Sheikh Hospital, Ain Shams Hospital, and a Military Hospital after returning from Switzerland.

 

We went to Ain Shams Hospital to ask about the health status of the player and to get a medical report explaining his health condition, so we met Dr. Mohamed Helmy, the Hospital Director, who confirmed that there was no medical report issued for the player.

 

“He attended the hospital twice, first in September 2015, after coming back from Switzerland, and the second in June 2016, but no medical report had made was issued for the player. He just went through simple tests,” Helmy said.

 

We got medical reports issued by the Armed Forces Medical Complex, the Specialized Paediatric Cardiac Center, and Sharm al-Sheikh International Hospital proving that Nasser was suffering from left ventricular hypertrophy, mitral valve regurgitation, as well as a kind of arrhythmia.

 

Copies of the reports that prove the player's health condition.

Mr. Azzam did not acknowledge the validity of those documents, stressing that the health of the player was good, and he was fit to the training naturally, as he presented reports that support his situation, including a report issued in June 2016 stating that Nasser suffered from dizziness resulting from a stroke in the brain but would not affect his activity level.

 

Yallakora shows the medical reports that presented by the Federation president, doctors (not the hospitals mentioned previously), as well as the periodic reports issued by his club, Tala'ea Al-Gaish SC, at the beginning of each season.

 

Despite Nasser’s health status, his friend Islam Shawki, who lives in Port Said, in northeast Egypt, spoke about his physical abilities: "Islam’s heart is stronger than my heart, although the Garmin device indicated that his heart beats speed reached 245 per minute, which is the dangerous rate on his life."

 

The Garmin is still with Nasser’s father, where it was returned with Nasser’s belongings. Yallakora has acquired the measurement of Islam's Garmin that showed his heart beats rate before the tournament, recorded 245 beats on February 9, 244 on February 28, 234 pulses on March 2, and 10 days later on March 12, the device indicated 211 beats.

 

The Garmin device is designed to monitor heart beats and used by athletes to check periodically their physical condition.

 

Some of Nasser’s colleagues confirmed that he obtained the Garmin from the UCI, during one of the camps there. The device is not available in Egypt because of its high-cost, which may exceed 30.000 Egyptian pounds.

  Mr. Hatab denied any knowledge of the Garmin’s measures or that Nasser has fainted before traveling to South Africa, considering that information is new, although he has previously informed us that he had already investigated the incident and reviewed all the documents.

 .

For his part, Dr. Ahmed Fathi, Dean of the National Heart Institute, pointed out that the heart rate shown was indicating that Nasser should have been admitted to the ICU immediately.

 

He explained that the normal heart rate ranges from 60 to 70 beats per minute in the normal situation, and rises in the case of exercise, but not to exceed 200 beats.

 

Sherif Abdullah, the former player and current trainer in the UAE, showed the nature of the device and how to use it, pointing out that the device is manufactured by a global company. The Garmin is installed on the bike and at the same time connected to the body of the player.

 

Nasser’s friend explains that, despite the seriousness of Nasser’s heartbeat rate, he participated in several tournaments after returning to the game again: "It was difficult for him to stop playing because he is belonged to a modest family."

 

Nasser won the first place at Egyptian National Cycling championship in 2016 by 8 minutes ahead of his closest rival, in what was described by his colleagues and the head of the ECF as an “Achievement”.

 

ECF President has refused to recognize the Garmin’s readings, pointing out that it is unsupported medically.

ِAcknowledgement of Responsibility

 

In accordance with a special procedure applied only in the case of players who suffer health problems, Nasser signed a document acknowledging his responsibility for participation in the championships before traveling to Congo, one of his colleagues. Consequently, he won all subsequent championships including the last one in South Africa.

 

Similarly, a cycling player called “M.A” said: “My father signed a document acknowledging his responsibility for any consequences that might occur as a result of my participation in competitions”. Despite the “M.A” was not 20 years old and participated in world championships and won a lot of medals. But, unfortunately, the Federation did not check her health provide the medical even she obtained the necessary reports supporting her health situation.

 

Dr. Azzam said that the acknowledgment of Islam regarding his responsibility towards the game was a good step after preventing him from playing for around 10 months.

 

“I refused his participation although he submitted all reports and check-ups proofing he was fit for playing and my desire to appoint him as a coach for the national team; especially after opening the new track,” he added. “I believed in his intelligence and self-awareness that might him to be a global-coach”

Mr. Hatab considered the approval of the player on his on his own responsibility to practice the game a smart move by the Federation in a time when suspicions emerged about his health condition was “A smart action from the Federation when there was a suspicion that the player was ill.”

 

Sherif Abdullah, who returned from the UAE to follow the player’s case, believed that the humble financial position of the family was the reason behind the insistence of Islam Nasser to continue his career relentlessly despite his illness.”

 

Moreover, Yallakora obtained the final report of the medical center in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, on 20th of March indicating that the reason behind his death is still under investigation however the player asserted that he did not suffer any infectious diseases.

 

Death under Investigation

 

According to the report issued by the said center, two death certificates were issued in South Africa and Egypt, as well as a burial permission, with the reason of death “under investigation”.

 

Death certificate from South Africa to transfer the corpse

Description of the corpse

 

Burial Permission

 

Commenting on the death reason mentioned in the certificate, Mr. Hatab stated that the corpse was delivered in a coffin which was never opened and that we have asked the South African party about the death reason indicated in the said certificate with “under investigation”. Therefore, we required an original copy of the death certificate before abstaining from communication.

Dr. Mohamed Hassan, the Egyptian Ambassador in South Africa said that he was in Pretoria, a district that is far from kwazulu-natal with around 600 km and where competition was held.

 

He confirmed that he expedited the required procedures to transfer the corpse to Egypt within 48 hours and added that he contacted with the medical center in South Africa to ask for the note “Under Investigation” that was added to the death certificate in order to make sure that the said note is added only to complete the required procedures, provided that the final medical report related to the player’s state will be added within 4-6 weeks.

 

The player lived in a quiet place called “Parrot village” of Beni Suef Governorate, with his parents, his brother Fares and his married sister who are still seeking his right.

 

The player’s family sought for the final report from South Africa “apart from the Egyptian Federation” to realize what was happened; especially that they didn’t aware the reason behind the concealment of the Swiss report.

 

They also asserted that their son wasn’t insured and didn’t get his salary since September 2016 in addition to he didn’t receive any rewards related to his medals or championships.

 

https://youtu.be/uZK8B_Wdjsw

Interview with Nasser’s family.

 

The Case Closed

Ministry of Youth and Sports announced that this case is finally closed while another source indicated that the ministry has already granted the player's family a financial compensation.

 

“The relation of ministry with such Federation is limited to providing the required budget while other technical matters are the responsibility of federations and Olympic committee,” the source, who asked to remain anonymous, added.

 

Moreover, we have contacted with another source inside the ministry who attended a meeting held in the parliament among the player’s family, Dr. Azzam, Cycling Federation President and members of Youth and Sports Committee.

 

He said: “the death is the act of God and the Federation provided all proofs confirming the player’s safety and it won’t be the last death.”

 

Nasser’s Family is still looking for the reason of his death while a state of sadness still prevails among them.