Rights group says Egypt 'forcibly disappeared' lawyer

An international rights group is urging Egypt to reveal the whereabouts of a rights lawyer who went missing after being detained.

An Egyptian court ordered the release of Ezzat Ghoneim and another lawyer, Azzoz Mahgoub, on Sept. 4 pending investigations, but the two have not been seen or heard from since Sept. 13.

Human Rights Watch says Wednesday Egyptian police have “forcibly disappeared” Ghoneim, who has been held since March on charges of plotting against the government.

It quotes Ghoneim’s wife, Rasha, as saying that she last saw her husband in custody at al-Haram police station, south of Cairo, on Sept. 13.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Both Ghoneim and Mahgoub supported victims of alleged police torture, the disappeared and their families in Egypt.