Lawyer Islam Salamah was allegedly arrested Monday night by police forces from his house in Gharbeya, according to his family.
His family said his whereabouts is still unknown and they do not know of what he is accused. A friend of his, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Daily News Egypt they fear he might be accused of terrorism-related charges.
Legal sources told Daily News Egypt whoever arrested Salamah was from the National Security Apparatus. The Ministry of Interior was contacted Tuesday and a representative could neither confirm nor deny the arrest. However, the friend said Salamah does not have any political affiliations.
Salamah is well known for following up and volunteering to defend individuals accused of terrorism charges and belonging to militant groups. He is a lawyer in several high profile cases like the “Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis” case in which more than 200 defendants are facing charges of planning and committing acts of terrorism in Egypt after the forceful dispersal of the Rabaa Al-Adaweya square in 2013. He is also known for volunteering to represent female protesters who are caught by the police.
On Friday, another lawyer, Abdel Aziz El-Deriny, was detained by security forces in Alexandria. No clear charges have been filed against him yet. El-Deriny is known for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and was active in the Lawyers Syndicate when it was controlled by group until 2014.