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

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."