Google executive expected to be released in Egypt

PanARMENIAN.Net - After disappearing in Egypt more than a week ago, leaving an ominous message on his Twitter account, Wael Ghonim, who leads Google’s marketing efforts for the Middle East and North Africa, is expected to be released by Egyptian authorities to his family on February 7 afternoon.

“We are not confident, but we are hopeful,” said Habib Haddad, a Boston-based businessman and a close friend of Mr. Ghonim who has been helping lead efforts in recent days to help locate his friend, among many in Egypt who have gone missing in the two-week-old revolt there. “At this point in time, it is important to be hopeful and confident but not to call for celebration yet.”

Egypt’s state-run Nile TV confirmed the information in a report.

Before his family lost contact with him on Jan. 28, Mr. Ghonim made one of his last posts to his Twitter page that troubled friends and family, raising concerns about his whereabouts: “Pray for #Egypt. Very worried as it seems that government is planning a war crime tomorrow against people. We are all ready to die #Jan25.”

His friends and family initially searched area hospitals for him while human rights activists became convinced he was being held by the authorities because he was believed to have inspired some of the young digital-savvy Egyptian political organizers to use technology, including Facebook and YouTube, to help raise awareness about abuse by the police and other human rights issues in Egypt.

Google did not respond to inquiries about these developments, but the company has been making efforts to help locate him, The New York Times reported.