Egypt arrests entire editorial team of one of the country’s few independent media

NEW YORK — 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 who called it an “alarming escalation on independent media and freedom of expression.”

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

Matsadaash co-founder 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.”

Founded eight years ago as a fact-checking platform, it 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, according to the U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights says 26 journalists are now behind bars in Egypt.

The journalists’ whereabouts are unknown

Egypt’s Interior Ministry 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.

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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. Mansour said Emaira’s library and internet router were destroyed during the arrest.

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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.

Rights groups call for the journalists’ release

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 website is blocked in Egypt, but its Facebook page has more than one million followers.

Over 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,” the petition, signed by groups including Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders, said. “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.”

Accusing critics of membership in the Brotherhood is common in Egypt, which designated the group as a terrorist organization in 2013, after the military ousted then-President Mohammed Morsi, a senior Brotherhood figure. Since then, authorities have frequently accused journalists and critics of belonging to the group or spreading false news.

The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928 in Egypt, began as a social and religious movement opposing British colonial rule. It grew into one of the Sunni Muslim world’s most influential Islamist movements, establishing branches in dozens of countries. Egyptian authorities alternated over the decades between tolerating and repressing the group, which was permitted to field candidates in elections for brief periods.

The Muslim Brotherhood is now also banned in Jordan, while its branches are designated terrorist organizations by several countries.