On 29 September 2019, the Egyptian authorities arrested lawyer and human rights defender Mohamed El-Baqer in Cairo. The current place of his detention remains unknown. This was reported by Frontline Defenders.
Mohamed El-Baqer is an Egyptian lawyer and human rights defender. He is the director of the Adalah Center for Rights and Freedoms, which promotes civil and political rights in Egypt and offers legal aid to political detainees and prisoners of conscience.
The arrest of Mohamed El-Baqer seems to be connected to his legitimate activities as a lawyer. Right before his arrest at the State Security Prosecution premises in Cairo, he had attended the interrogation of human rights defender Alaa Abdel Fattah. Mohamed El-Baqer’s current location remains unknown and he is facing charges of ‘joining and financing a terrorist organization’, ‘defamation’, and ‘using social media for illegal activities’.
Mohamed El-Baqer’s arrest can be seen as part of the wider suppression of the government’s opposition. Last week another lawyer, Mahienour El-Massry, was arrested for her work defending clients that had been arrested during the demonstrations demanding the resignation of the Egyptian president Abdelfattah Al-Sisi.
