CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohamed Mahdy Akef said that what happened to the 27-year-old "Facebook activist Esraa Abdel Fattah is evidence of what the group has repeatedly referred to before - the Egyptian regime's cruel treatment of anyone who opposes the government. Abdel Fattah was taken into custody by security forces for allegedly masterminding the April 6 general strike. She disappeared last week from the Qasr El-Nil prosecution office, only to be detained indefinitely by the Ministry of Interior despite receiving a release order from the Prosecutor General. "The call for a protest [on April 6] would have never been made unless there were real political, economic and social crises, Akef said in his statement to Daily News Egypt. The events of April 6 also show that "the Egyptian regime is in conflict with all sectors of the Egyptian society, the statement continued. Abdel Fattah's case in particular proves that "Egypt is a police state, he said. "If the situation remains as is, Akef warned, "a public outcry will take place and its consequences will be completely unpredictable. On Monday, Abdel Fattah's mother made an appeal on behalf of her daughter in Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper asking the Egyptian government to "have mercy on her daughter and release her. The appeal was addressed to President Hosni Mubarak, First Lady Suzanne Mubarak and Minister of Interior Habib Al-Adly. Abdel Fattah was detained pending investigation after she was picked up from a coffee shop near her workplace in Nasr City on April 6. "We know that she [Esraa] has received a detainment order but we have no clue for how long or where she is, Amir Salem, Abdel Fattah's lawyer told Daily News Egypt in a previous interview. Abdel Fattah, who is also a member of Al-Ghad party, was accused of organizing the strike by creating a group on Facebook, where messages were posted calling for a nationwide general strike. In the days leading up to the strike, anti-government groups sent mobile phone messages and emails to people around the country to hold protests, stay home from work, avoid shopping, wear black clothes and hang the Egyptian flag from windows and balconies in a show of support for the strikers.
