Egypt arrests pro-Hamas blogger

Egyptian police have arrested a blogger who criticized the government and expressed support for the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas, a human rights organization said on Tuesday.

The Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said 40 officers had confiscated books and CDs from blogger Mohamed Adel's house before arresting him.

"An enormous security force and special forces to take into custody a young blogger who owns nothing other than a keyboard and a blog!" said Gamal Eid, director of the Network. "This is the law of the state of emergency which has ruled Egyptians for 27 years."

The group said there had been no word of or from Adel since November 20. An interior ministry spokesman said he was not aware of the case.

Egypt sentenced a blogger to four years' jail last year after finding him guilty of insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak.

International and local rights groups say torture is systematic in Egyptian jails and police stations. Egypt says it prosecutes policemen who torture detainees.

Adel's blog featured a picture of the founder of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, a burning American flag, and pictures of Hamas fighters.

Egypt says the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's most powerful opposition, is a banned group and police regularly arrest its members.

The Brotherhood has criticised the government for refusing to open its Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip, accusing it of participating in the punishing Israeli siege of the coastal territory.

Hamas took over Gaza last year after routing forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas holds sway in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.