The Journalists' Syndicate has accused security forces of kidnapping two of its members late last week and is demanding the general prosecution release them.
In a statement on Saturday, the syndicate said Hesham Gaafar and Hossam-Eddin al-Sayyed were forcibly removed from their homes by security forces last Wednesday and Thursday. It said their arrest represented a breach of syndicate and penal code laws, as well as the Constitution.
Gaafar, the director of NGO Mada for Media Development, is reportedly accused of receiving illicit foreign funding, as well as being affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. His organization runs OnIslam.net (formerly Islamonline.net), which had previously been accused of having ties with the Brotherhood.
Meanwhile, the reason behind al-Sayyed’s detention remain unknown.
Human rights and political activists have increasingly become critical of warrantless arrests and the disappearance of activists over the past two years, since Sisi's election in 2014.
Freedom for the Brave, an independent group offering support to political detainees, reported 164 cases of forced disappearances between April and June 2015, numbers that were backed by the National Council for Human Rights.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
