Disappearance denied

The Egyptian government is denying an accusation by the wife of a former lawmaker that her husband may have been detained by police. A statement by the State Information Service yesterday categorically denies that Mustafa el-Nagar has been detained. Instead, it described him as a fugitive from a three-year prison sentence upheld this week by the country’s top appeals court following his conviction along with some two dozen others of insulting the judiciary.