Egypt arrests independent publication’s entire team

Egyptian authorities swept up the entire editorial team of one of the country’s few independent media, accusing them on Thursday of belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The arrest this week of the six journalists of Matsadaash (Arabic for “Don’t Believe”) sparked an outcry from international and regional rights groups, which called it an “alarming escalation on independent media and freedom of expression.”

Authorities accused the six of being members of the Muslim Brotherhood, alleging they produced fabricated news for an online outlet in exchange for foreign funding.

A combination of undated photos provided by Matsadaash shows Egyptian journalists, clockwise from top left, Mohamed Ashraf, Omar Helal, Islam Barakat, Mohamed Adel, Mohamed Mahmoud and Abdallah Qadry.

Photo: AP

Matsadaash cofounder Abdelrahman Mansour denied the allegations and said he and their families have no idea where they are.

“Everyone on this team knew the risks when they went to work every day, but it’s unacceptable for the government to make false accusations and forcibly disappear journalists just because they’re afraid of a free press,” he said, speaking from outside Egypt.

“Their families are worried, we’re worried, we just want them released unharmed,” he said.

Founded eight years ago as a fact-checking platform, Matsadaash has since expanded into investigative reporting in Egypt and other Arab countries.

Mansour said two of the outlet’s editors were arrested in 2023, but were released without charge after State Security investigators found no affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.

“It’s very difficult for us to understand why this is happening,” he said.

Egypt is among the world’s worst jailers of journalists, the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists said. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights says 26 journalists are behind bars in Egypt.

The Egyptian Ministry of the Interior on Thursday described Matsadaash as an unlicensed page managed from abroad by a “fugitive Brotherhood member” it identified as Mansour.

It said the six people detained were part of a Brotherhood “media committee” that prepared false and fabricated news for Mansour to publish. Only one of the six is a member of the Journalists’ Syndicate, the national press union, the statement said. It said legal measures have been taken, but did not specify charges.

The first arrest occurred on Monday night when authorities went to the home of Abdallah Qadry, Mansour said.

The other five members of staff were arrested on Tuesday, starting with Mohamed Abu Emaira, who was taken from his home in the early hours.

Omar Helal was arrested in Port Said and Islam Barakat in Gharbia Governorate. Two other members of Matsadaash’s newsroom staff — Mohamed Mahmoud and Mohamed Adel — were arrested in Cairo.

All had their cellphones and computers confiscated.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the whereabouts of all six remain unknown.

“They have not been allowed to contact their families or legal team,” the advocacy group said.

It was the first time an entire newsroom had been arrested in Egypt.

Matsadaash, founded in 2018 as an online platform, has gained credibility and a large following in Egypt, where independent media are stifled and government censorship and oversight over newspapers and TV networks are the norm. The Matsadaash Web site is blocked in Egypt, but its Facebook page has more than 1 million followers.

More than 80 international and regional rights groups, civil society organizations and independent media called on the Egyptian authorities to release the journalists, condemning what they called an escalating crackdown on independent media.

“Matsadaash has operated openly for years and has built a reputation for credible and accurate reporting on a range of public interest issues across Egypt,” said the petition, signed by groups including Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders. “Egyptian authorities’ failure to allow free expression to thrive flies in the face of a purported commitment to dialogue, transparency, anti-corruption, and regional leadership.”