CAIRO - Veteran columnist Mohssen Mohammed, whose richly crafted daily and weekly writings were admired by the majority of Egyptian readers, has died in Cairo of old age and chronic diseases, his family members said Saturday. He was 84. Mohammed won numerous journalistic prizes and awards for his writings in Al-Gomhuria newspaper, where he was editor-in-chief for more than ten years when President Anwar el-Sadat took office in 1970. Mohammed, who was also the board chairman of El-Tahrir Publishing and Printing House, which issues Al-Gomhuria and The Egyptian Gazette, documented the systematic looting and smuggling of Pharaonic treasures. He movingly portrayed ordinary people and archaeologists in "The Robbing of Egypt's King," published in the mid 1990s. More recently, he wrote about the revolts sweeping the Arab world from Egypt, Bahrain, Syria to Libya. Condolences poured in as the news spread via Twitter and other online forums Saturday. "Mohssen Mohammed was one of Egypt's bravest and best journalists," one of his regular readers wrote. "RIP Mohssen Mohammed. He was an inspiration and role model for every Egyptian journalist, a brilliant and courageous writer," another reader wrote. Mohssen Mohammed is survived by his wife, Hend Abul Soud, a daughter and a son.
