Two lawyers disappeared by Egyptian regime, says rights group

Two Egyptian lawyers have been disappeared following their detention, a human rights group has said, with fears for their safety in a prison system where torture is rife.

The two men were moved to an unknown location and have not been heard from since, said Ahmed el-Attar of Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms on Thursday.

A court had ordered the release of Ezzat Ghoniem and Azzoz Mahgoub on 4 September to allow investigators to explore claims they were plotting against the Egyptian regime.

They then disappeared while in custody on 14 September.

El-Attar said the men's families tried to visit them but were told they had already been released.

Amnesty International said the men have been forcibly disappeared and are at great risk of torture, and urges authorities to make their whereabouts known.

Both Ghoneim and Mahgoub supported victims of alleged police torture and disappeared detainees in Egypt. 

Ghoneim initially disappeared in March following a 15-day detention order. He was held for the next six months at the notorious Tora, or Scorpion Prison, where Amnesty International has said torture is routine.

"Commonly reported methods of torture included electric shocks to the genitals and other sensitive areas, beating, suspension by the limbs while handcuffed from behind, stress positions, beatings and rape," the report added.

"Deaths in detention were reported, with some apparently attributable to torture or other ill-treatment or inadequate conditions in police stations."