#WhereIsMassouny: Enforced disappearances continue in Egypt

For more than three months, the family and friends of graphic designer Mustafa Ahmad, known as Massouny, have not known his whereabouts - after he became one of hundreds of people thought to be extra-judically kidnapped by Egyptian police.

The 26-year-old left his friend's home in downtown Cairo on the evening of June 26 to pick up some food - and never came back.

He had been arrested by State Security, it later emerged.

Hundreds of liberal activists and Islamists have been arrested in a recent wave of enforced disappearances, which Human Rights Watch has called a "serious violation of international law".

Massouny had no political leanings or affiliation. Basically what happened was he woke up, went out to get some food from Qasr al-Aini street and never came back - Zaki Hussein

"Massouny had no political leanings or affiliation," Massouny's close friend, Zaki Hussein, told el-Watan News.

"Weeks later, we found out through personal contacts that he was being held at the Lazoghli [State Security building]. They said he would be released after the Eid al-Fitr holiday. We waited and nothing happened - two weeks later he disappeared from Lazoghli and we now have no idea where he is."

His family and friends have not spoken out over the past three months to ensure that Massouny would not be accused of being a member of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Massouny's friend, Walaa al-Masri. said: "At first we didn't think he had been arrested, so we went and asked at the morgues and police stations but his name was nowhere. All we found out was that he had no charges against him."

According to a Facebook page that tracks reportedly state-sponsored enforced disappearances, Massouny's family only found out he had been arrested after State Security phoned his workplace to make sure he actually worked there and told them he was under investigation.

His family contacted the police who said that he would be released in June - yet Massouny's whereabouts remain unknown.

Social media campaign

Following Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's recent pardon of a group of 100 political prisoners, social media users have launched a campaign to shed light on Massouny's case, using the Arabic-language hashtag #WhereIsMassouny.

Twitter users brought attention to his disappearance on the day Sisi addressed the UN General Assembly.

"Not only Massouny, but everyone in Egypt is insecure and can be at jailed/arrested/detained/tortured for NO REASON," tweeted Journalist Doja Daoud.

"Even if you're political, a Brotherhood member or a ghost - there's no legal or constitutional reason to say an Egyptian citizen has disappeared for four months," tweeted blogger Zeinobia.

Even pro-government TV talk show host Khairy Ramadan joined in: "On behalf of Egypt's youth, where is Massouny? I'm not saying that the Interior Ministry knows, but it is incumbent on them to gather information on the issue."