The Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) is submittng a request to the general prisons department Monday to search for missing Egyptian Engineer Amr Othman. Othman, 31, has been missing since 25 August, when security forces personnel arrived at his house in Bakkous, Alexandria. The security personnel told his family: "We just need him for a 30-minute interrogation." No reasons for his arrest were given at the time of his arrest. The defendant's lawyer at ANHRI, Mohamed Hafez, said Othman's family went to the nearest police station the following day and found no trace of him. Hafez added that security men arrested Othman without permission from the prosecution. The official statement released by ANHRI claimed that Othman is not involved in any form of political activism, and there is no proof that he partook in any violent acts. "We have no clue why he got arrested," Hafez said. "Lately, there have been a staggering number of random enforced disappearances without any information about the charges filed again the person or his place." Responses from officials in Alexandria and the Prosecutor General have yet to be received to requests sent by Othman's family, according to the ANHRI statement. The statement also said Othman's case is a clear indication of human rights violations that harks back to the "night visitors" of Mubarak's era. It has called the Egyptian authorities to disclose Othman's location and reasons for his detention.
