Where is Massouny? Search continues for man taken by national security in June

Mostafa Massouny was hanging out with his friends on Qasr al-Aini Street in downtown Cairo and went to get something to eat when he disappeared. Four months later, his family and friends are still looking for him.

According to the Freedom for the Brave Facebook page, the 26-year-old was abducted by security forces on June 26. It was only when his coworkers contacted his sister that his family found out he was being investigated by National Security Agency (NSA) officers at their headquarters in Lazoghly Square.

The NSA had contacted his workplace to confirm his employment, Freedom for the Brave said. His family was then told that he should be released soon, since there was nothing to implicate him in any crime.

However, shortly thereafter he disappeared again, and his whereabouts still remain unknown.

Massouny’s name isn’t listed in any morgue, prison or police reports, according to the Freedom for the Brave page.

Social media users started a campaign to shed light on Massouny’s case under the hashtag “Where is Massouny?” (#ماصوني_فين).

Commentators wanted to urgently bring attention to his disappearance on the day President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly.

The hashtag quickly trended on Twitter, as users called Massouny the latest victim in a series of state-sponsored forced disappearances.  

Several social media commentators said Massouny was not involved in any political activity, and was dedicated to his work (according to his Elance profile, Massouny works as a graphic designer and video editor). Others wondered why he wasn’t among those pardoned by Sisi on the occasion of Eid.  

Last June, the Freedom for the Brave campaign documented at least 163 cases of forced disappearances and illegal detention by security forces in the past two months alone, according to a document published on its official Facebook page.

Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Mostafa Massouny went missing on June 6. It has been amended to reflect that he was reported missing on June 26.