Egypt Disappearing Gaza Protesters

The Egyptian government’s eagerness to stifle any public displays of discontent with their position on Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip is well documented, but weeks after the war’s ending one would assume the harsh treatment was over. That appears not to be the case however.

Popular Egyptian blogger Diaa Eddin Gad a member of the nation’s liberal Wafd party whose blog contains denunciations of the Gaza invasion as well as condemnations of President Hosni Mubarak’s role in the matter was dragged from his house Friday and beaten by police. He was then arrested, but despite efforts by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, they have not made public why he was arrested or where he’s being held.

German citizen Philip Rizk was participating in a protest walk with some friends to raise money for Gaza aid on Friday. He was arrested by state security forces and is likewise being held at an undisclosed location. Amnesty International is looking into the matter, but says “officially, nobody knows where Philip is.”

The Interior Ministry refused to comment on Gad’s disappearance, and the New York Times describes its spokesman as furious at questions about Rizk’s capture. The spokesman would give them no information, except to assure that “this happened within the framework of the Egyptian law.”