Egyptian journalist 'forcibly disappeared' after Zambia mystery plane reports
Egyptian journalist 'forcibly disappeared' after Zambia mystery plane reports
Karim Asaad was reportedly arrested and taken to an undisclosed location after the outlet he works for claimed to have unveiled the identities of Egyptians on board a plane carrying gold and money from Cairo to Zambia.
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Egypt is one of the world's most prolific jailers of journalists [Getty]
An Egyptian journalist was reportedly arrested and taken to an undisclosed location after the outlet he works for claimed to have unveiled the identities of Egyptians who were on board a plane carrying gold and money from Cairo to ZambiaÌýthis week.
Plain-clothed security forces raided the east Cairo home ofÌýÌýin the early hours of Saturday, 'Matsada2sh', theÌýfact-checking platformÌýAsaad works for, said in a on Saturday evening.
Security forcesÌýphysically assaulted AsaadÌýand his wife and threatened their child beforeÌýconfiscating their money, valuables and electronic devices, according to the statement.
They also forcedÌýAsaad to deleteÌýposts by Matsada2sh about the Zambia-seized plane, before taking him to an undisclosed location.
'Matsda2sh' was founded in 2018Ìýby the late Mohamed Aboul Gheit, during his stay in the UK capital London. The platformÌýis run by a group of Egyptian journalists with no political affiliation.
On Friday, it claimed to haveÌý the identities of the Egyptian nationals who had been on board the plane carrying more than 600 gold bars and about almost US$6 million in cash, including a senior Egyptian army officer.Ìý
Matsada2sh said they had been subject to Egyptian state harassment long before reporting on the identities of the Egyptians on board the cash-and-gold-laden plane.
"Before his arrest, the only questions they asked him were related to our breaking coverage of the Zambia-Egypt plane story. But this horrific escalation began before the plane story emerged, and over the past months we have faced a vicious smear campaign and incitement lawsuits against our platform and its staff," the statement read.
"We hold the security authorities responsible for the safety of our colleague… along with the rest of the team, and we demand that his lawyer be made aware of Karim’s whereabouts, the conditions of his detention, and the charge(s) against him."
Asaad's whereabouts remain unknown at the time of this article's publication.Ìý°®Âþµº tried to contact Asaad's wife for comment, but could not reach her.
Egypt is among the world's most prolific jailers of journalists, with dozens imprisoned or in pre-trial detention.ÌýIn April of this year, EgyptÌýlisted 33 journalists on a new terrorism watch list.
Some 600 local and international news sitesÌýhave been blocked in Egypt.
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