I’ve just heard from a friend that Ahmed Maher, a 27-year-old engineer quoted in the Western press as a May 4 Facebook activist, is alleging that he was beaten in State Security custody. Details are still sketchy, but apparently State Security called him in for a “friendly” coffee earlier this week. When he didn’t go, my friend tells me, State Security took him from his home in the middle of the night, beat him, and released him with the warning that they were “just pulling his ear” this time, and that next time would be worse. He is reportedly in hospital now.

These are serious allegations, and I sincerely hope I have received bad information. I’ll post more as it comes in.

Update: I have a fuller report with all the grizzly details now, but I’m waiting to hear from Ahmed how much he wants to make public before publishing. He does want to speak out about what happened to him, but it’s not clear how far he wants to take this or what details he’d like to keep private. In the meantime, a correction: 1) Ahmed was detained yesterday afternoon, not in the middle of the night. He was released from State Security custody shortly before dawn this morning.