Egyptian journalist Mohamed has disappeared in suspicious circumstances from the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, raising further concerns about a growing crackdown on journalists and activists ahead of protests on 11 November against the regime.
Unidentified men, believed to belong to security services, reportedly Moussa to an unknown place, the independent Darb news outlet on Monday.
Darb lawyer Mohamed Ramadan as urging the press syndicate head Diyaa Rashwan, known for being loyal to the regime, to intervene and find out Moussa's whereabouts.
It remains unclear why Moussa, a freelance journalist and member of the press syndicate, would have been detained.
Egypt has been as the world's third worst jailer of journalists where dozens of journalists remain behind bars. Around 600 local and international online media outlets are blocked in Egypt, including .
Last Thursday, two days after being forcibly disappeared, Manal Agrama appeared before the public prosecution, facing 'terrorism-related' charges, a charge used by the regime routinely against dissidents and journalists.
The leader of her defence team, prominent lawyer Khaled Ali, in a statement posted on Facebook that Agrama had been accused of being a member of a terrorist group, financing terrorism, inciting terrorist crimes and misusing social media to promote terrorism.
“A number of lawyers at my office were present in the interrogation. The prosecution ordered the detention of Agrama for 15 days, pending further investigations into the case,” the added.
Agrama was an outspoken critic of the government’s performance and politics, also voicing scepticism over Egypt’s ability to host COP27
International organisations have recently been towards Egypt’s ahead of the UN Climate Summit, also known as COP 27, which kicked off on Sunday and will continue till 18 November in the fortified resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh.
Since taking power in 2014, the regime of Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has been ruling the country with an iron fist and is frequently accused by local and international rights groups of overseeing the worst on human rights, freedom of expression, andin the country's modern history.