NEW YORK — Prosecutors have dropped assault charges against a protester who said he was dragged off a Manhattan street by Egyptian government officials, beaten and whipped with a metal chain and then wrongly arrested by New York City police.

Yasin El Sammak, 22, and his 15-year-old brother had faced assault and strangulation charges following the altercation, which unfolded last month during a small pro-Palestinian protest outside an Egyptian diplomatic building.

Those charges against El Sammak were dismissed Wednesday by prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, who said the evidence did not support the police department’s contention that he was the aggressor in the incident. His younger brother's charges were previously sealed in family court.

“I’m relieved the truth ca

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