Open-Season on Egyptian Activists and Bloggers
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE51617J20090207 (English)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7878067.stm (English)
http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=19519 (English)

Philip Rizk, a 26-year-old Egyptian-German political activist, film maker and blogger was abducted by Egyptian authorities this week, ostensibly in response to his activism on behalf of Gaza.  Rizk, a graduate student at the Ameican University in Cairo, was detained by police Friday night after holding a march in the rural areas north of Cairo to raise awareness of the situation in Gaza.  Following the demonstration, authorities detained Rizk and his fellow activists, then proceeded to force him into a white van with no license plates, and promptly sped off, with other policemen preventing Rizk's partner activists from following.  He is now being held in by secret police in an undisclosed location, according to his family.  Having lived in Gaza for two years, Rizk was deeply passionate about the situation there, which he made clear in his films, most recently a short documentary about non-violent resistance to Israeli occupation, and on his blog.  Rizk was part of an attempt to send medicine and humanitarian aid to Gaza, a process stymied by Egypt's closure of the Rafah border.  The German embassy was notified, and is trying to locate his whereabouts.  Most recently, as told by Rizk's sister through a Facebook support group she administers, Egyptian authorities arrived in their home at 1:30 AM on Monday morning-5 plain clothed men and two in full riot gear and machine guns-and proceeded to ransack the house, in search of evidence against Philip.  They left, but returned shortly thereafter demanding that Rizk's father leave with them to file a report of the search they just conducted in his home, to which he refused.  Finally, after the arrival of an attorney from Amnesty International, who insisted that authorities could not take further actions without a police warrant, the police finally vacated the Rizk household at 5AM.  In similar news, blogger Mohammed Adel, who has been detained without charge since November 2008, saw the Administrative Court adjourn the case lodged on his behalf until March 23rd.  Much like Philip Rizk, Adel was abducted surreptitiously by Egyptian authorities, on November 20th, bundled into a car, and transported to an undisclosed location.  A plea from Adel's father, Adel Fahmy, to see his son on December 8th proved futile, with authorities refusing to providing any information on his son's whereabouts.  In response, lawyer Taher Aboul Nasr submitted a petition declaring Adel's continued detention to be in violation of both international human rights law and the Egyptian constitution, as well as articles 1 and 3 of Police Law no. 109 of 1971, and demanded LE 1 million in damages.  Moreover, like Rizk, Adel was a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, traveling to Gaza in January 2008 with a relief convoy when the Rafah crossing was breached.