Lawyer Nourhan Mostafa has submitted an official complaint to the Public Prosecutor regarding the unlawful access to, and seizure of, an online account belonging to her brother, Ahmed Hassan Mostafa, who has been subjected to enforced disappearance since April 2019 and whose fate remains unknown to this day.
According to the complaint—filed under petition no. 1540889—the family was shocked to discover unauthorized access to Ahmed’s electronic account, an incident the complainant described as a criminal offence posing a serious threat to the integrity of investigations and to the family’s rights, especially given the continued concealment of his fate for more than six years.
According to the Committee for Justice (CFJ), the complaint noted that Ahmed Hassan Mostafa was 18 years old at the time of his disappearance and was a first-year law student at Cairo University. His family had sent telegrams following his disappearance to both the Public Prosecutor and the Minister of Interior, reporting the incident and demanding disclosure of his place of detention.
The complainant stated that the incident constitutes unlawful access to an information technology system and seizure of an electronic account belonging to another person, in addition to the aggravated circumstance of the account belonging to an individual deprived of liberty or forcibly disappeared. This raises suspicions of tampering with digital evidence, identity impersonation, or the potential use of the account for unlawful purposes.
The family also clarified that they had previously submitted formal complaints on the matter, including complaint no. 59353/2024, without receiving any response or serious legal action to date. They reaffirmed their ongoing appeals to the President of the Republic, the Public Prosecutor, and the Minister of Interior to urgently disclose Ahmed’s whereabouts and take the necessary legal measures to determine his fate.
CFJ asserts that the seizure of an electronic account belonging to a forcibly disappeared person represents an extremely alarming development, requiring an urgent and independent investigation to uncover the circumstances of the incident, safeguard digital evidence, and hold those responsible accountable. The organization reiterated its call for the immediate disclosure of Ahmed Hassan Mostafa’s fate and for ending the suffering endured by his family since 2019.
