According to reports, Amnesty revealed recently that there had been an "unprecedented spike" in sanctioned disappearances, defined as the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person, followed by the state's refusal to acknowledge that person's fate, since 2015.
Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International said, "Enforced disappearance has become a key instrument of state policy in Egypt. This report reveals the shocking and ruthless tactics that the Egyptian authorities are prepared to employ in their efforts to terrify protesters and dissidents into silence."
The clampdown by the government has resulted in at least 34,000 people – by government's own admission – being jailed, including critics and opponents of the government as well as children as young as 14 years of age.  
Amnesty added that after being captured, the victims were subjected to hours of torture to extract confessions.