Mamdouh Ahmed Al-Arabi Abdelfattah Azhari Diab, 20, is a second year law student at the University of Benha and a resident of Qalyubia Governorate. In the light of his disappearance, Alkarama submitted his case as an urgent appeal to the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances on 22 January 2010.

Mamdouh Diab's case rather than a single violation is a sequence of violations dating back to February 2008. He has been the subject of arbitrary arrest, torture, ill-treatment, an unfair trial and finally his most recent disappearance.

Intial arrest and unfair trial

Forces from the Shabeen Al-Qanater Police Station arrested Mamdouh Diab on 13 February 2008 under what can only be described as bizarre circumstances. As sources have revealed, the police officers were in fact looking for a man with a name similar to that of his brother, Mohamed. When Mamdouh Diab showed them proof of his Identity, he was taken by force, and when he tried to resist arrest, he was beaten. When his brother, Mohamed, tried to interject in order to avoid a violent altercation, they were both arrested.

The two brothers were then taken to Shabeen Al-Qanater Police Station where they were tortured by Officer Ahmad Al-Husseini and Officer Jamal Al-Daghidi.

The officers alleged to have found illegal weapons in their homes and said that they would not be released until one of them confessed to owning the guns. They were continually tortured until Mamdouh Diab confessed being the owner of the guns. It was only on 3 March 2008 that they were provisionally released on bail while awaiting the court case against Mamdouh Diab. Then, on 2 December 2008, the Criminal Court of Benha, using confessions extracted under torture, sentenced Mamdouh Diab to 1 year in prison for illegal possession of firearms. Mamdouh Diab's lawyer told the court that evidence for the trial was extracted under torture, however no investigation was initiated.

Detention, release, disappearance

On 22 April 2009 he was arrested in order to implement his sentence and was taken to Al-Marg Al-Jadid prison in Cairo. Having already served 75% of his sentence his release date was set for 5 January 2010. While his family awaited his final release from Shabeen Al-Qanater police station, he was nowhere to be found, and police officers denied having any information about him.

Alkarama calls on the Egyptian authorities to immediately release Mamdouh Diab, and in any case, to inform his family of his whereabouts and fate.