Amnesty: Egypt uses 'shocking' tactics against dissidents

FILE - In this Tuesday, May 3, 2016, file photo, Egyptian security forces close off a street near the Press Syndicate as journalist's protest in Cairo, Egypt. An international rights group says Egyptian security authorities are using enforced disappearances as a tool to stifle dissent. In a new report released by Amnesty International, the watchdog says there has been an “unprecedented spike” in enforced disappearances since early 2015. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty) (The Associated Press)

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FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015 file photo, Egyptian journalists hold posters calling for the release from prison detention of Mahmoud Abou-Zeid, known as Shawkan, in front of the Syndicate of Journalists building in Cairo, Egypt. An international rights group says Egyptian security authorities are using enforced disappearances as a tool to stifle dissent. In a new report released by Amnesty International, the watchdog says there has been an “unprecedented spike” in enforced disappearances since early 2015. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Monday, June 27, 2016, file photo, hundreds of Egyptian students march during a protest against the cancellation of high school exams, in Cairo, Egypt. An international rights group says Egyptian security authorities are using enforced disappearances as a tool to stifle dissent. In a new report released by Amnesty International, the watchdog says there has been an “unprecedented spike” in enforced disappearances since early 2015. (AP Photo/Roger Anis, File) (The Associated Press)

CAIRO – An international rights group says Egyptian security authorities are using enforced disappearce as a tool to stifle dissent.

In a new report released on Wednesday, Amnesty International says there has been an "unprecedented spike" in enforced disappearances since early 2015 in Egypt.

The report documents 17 cases it says reveal "the shocking and ruthless tactics" of the Egyptian authorities to crack down on government opponents.

Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International said that "the report exposes not only the brutality faced by those disappeared but also the collusion between national security forces and judicial authorities, who have been prepared to lie to cover their tracks or failed to investigate torture allegations, making them complicit in serious human rights violations."