Bassem Sabry, popular Egyptian blogger and human rights advocate, dies at 32

CAIRO – Bassem Sabry, one of Egypt's most respected bloggers who campaigned for civil rights and against repression, has died. He was 32.

Sabry was a well-known columnist and fluent in several languages. Egyptian social media were flooded with eulogies by his friends since his death on Monday.

Security officials say Sabry accidently fell from a balcony under unclear circumstances. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Mohamed ElBaradei, winner of the Nobel peace prize and a former presidential contender, tweeted that Sabry was a "noble person we lost at a time of dire need."

Writer Mohammed el-Dahshan mourned his friend in a post describing Sabry as "an extremely astute writer, a gifted analyst, an indefatigable storyteller, and even through the darkness, optimistic to a fault."