Egypt rights group halts work amid arrests

CAIRO – An Egyptian rights group which has supported victims of alleged police torture and forced disappearances says it is halting operations amid a sweeping government crackdown.

The Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms said Sunday that another member, lawyer Mohamed Horira, was arrested last week. Horira is married to Aisha Khairat el-Shater, the daughter of an imprisoned senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood. She was also arrested last week.

Authorities have arrested thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members since the 2013 military overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi, who had been a prominent member of the Islamist group.

The leaders of the rights group, lawyers Ezzat Ghoneim and Azzoz Mahgoub, were forcibly disappeared and later charged with plotting against the government. They remain in detention despite a court ordering their release.