Cairo:
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 Monday afternoon, a friend of the Ghonim family said Sunday night.
"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 reported on Sunday that Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq had called the network to announce that Mr. Ghonim would be released on Monday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Naguib Sawiris, a prominent Egyptian businessman who was among several others meeting with Vice President Omar Suleiman over the weekend, said that he had been assured Mr. Ghonim would be released on Monday afternoon.
Before his family lost contact with him on Jan. 28, Mr. Ghonim made one of his last posts to his @ghonim 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.
Soon after Khaled Said, an Egyptian businessman who had evidence of police corruption, was killed at the hands of officers on June 6, 2010, in Alexandria, a Facebook page was created and YouTube videos were uploaded that human rights advocates said helped build an online community of more than 450,000 people and inspired the protests that began on Jan. 25. It is unclear what role, if any, Mr. Ghonim had in the social media effort to raise awareness about the case of Khaled Said.
After his disappearance, members of the April 6 Youth Movement, which began in 2008 to use a Facebook group to help gather support for human rights causes, told Egyptian authorities on Friday that they had designated Mr. Ghonim their spokesman.
Google did not respond to inquiries about these developments on Sunday, but the company has been making efforts to help locate him.
"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 reported on Sunday that Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq had called the network to announce that Mr. Ghonim would be released on Monday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Naguib Sawiris, a prominent Egyptian businessman who was among several others meeting with Vice President Omar Suleiman over the weekend, said that he had been assured Mr. Ghonim would be released on Monday afternoon.
Before his family lost contact with him on Jan. 28, Mr. Ghonim made one of his last posts to his @ghonim 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.
Soon after Khaled Said, an Egyptian businessman who had evidence of police corruption, was killed at the hands of officers on June 6, 2010, in Alexandria, a Facebook page was created and YouTube videos were uploaded that human rights advocates said helped build an online community of more than 450,000 people and inspired the protests that began on Jan. 25. It is unclear what role, if any, Mr. Ghonim had in the social media effort to raise awareness about the case of Khaled Said.
After his disappearance, members of the April 6 Youth Movement, which began in 2008 to use a Facebook group to help gather support for human rights causes, told Egyptian authorities on Friday that they had designated Mr. Ghonim their spokesman.
Google did not respond to inquiries about these developments on Sunday, but the company has been making efforts to help locate him.
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