Egypt Activist Wanted for Trial Caught in NGO Raid

Egyptian police arrested a leading secular activist wanted for trial in a raid on the office of a rights group in Cairo, the NGO said Thursday.

Police had arrested five people at the office during a raid Wednesday night, but released all but activist Mohamed Adel hours later.

Adel, a prominent secular activist, is standing trial with two other activists for violating a new protest law that restricts demonstrations. He had been on the run.

The office belongs to the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, which has supported striking factory workers and defended activists at trials.

Adel is standing trial along with Ahmed Maher and Ahmed Douma, leaders of the April 6 movement that helped topple strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

The verdict in their trial, on charges of holding an unauthorized and violent protest, is expected next week.

"Officers stormed the office around 11:30 (Wednesday night, 2130 GMT) and arrested everyone who was there," said the group's director Nadim Mansour. Police also arrested two volunteers, including Adel, who were present.

The group later said on its Twitter account that all had been released expect Adel.

Police had ransacked the office and taken three computer hard drives, according to an Agence France Presse correspondent who saw the office Thursday morning.

Interior ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.

Police had raided several foreign NGOs in 2011 after prosecutors accused them of receiving illicit funding from abroad.

Police have launched a blistering crackdown on Morsi's Islamist supporters since his ouster, with more than 1,000 people killed in street clashes and thousands arrested.

They have also begun to target secular activists who opposed Morsi and now criticize the military-installed government.

State media have repeatedly claimed that some rights groups form part of a "fifth column" that should be investigated.