State Security police raided the house of Islamist lawyer Mamdouh Ismail on Thursday dawn, accusing him of “belonging to the Islamic Jihad and defaming Egypt’s image.”

[Above: A photo I took of Mamdouh Ismail in the Lawyers' Syndicate last February]

I know Mamdouh, who has been one of the most active lawyers in defending Islamist detainees in courts, and I can say with confidence that State Security’s accusations are a pile of horseshit. His relationship with the Islamic Jihad (which as an organization ceased to exist) ended a long time ago. Since I first met him in 2004, I always had a great admiration for him, despite the ideological disagreements, for his bravery in taking up torture cases of Islamist detainees. My last meeting with him was in February of this year, where he praised the bloggers’ activism, and told me he was planning to set up a blog for himself too.

He is now locked up in Liman Tora Prison. The Interior Ministry is responsible for his safety while in custody.

I hope to see him released soon…