Egyptian authorities arrest entire editorial team of independent media site

NEW YORK (AP) — Egyptian authorities on Thursday accused six journalists detained this week of membership in the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, saying they produced fabricated news for an online outlet in exchange for funding from abroad.

The arrests swept up the entire editorial team of Matsadaash, Arabic for “Don’t Believe,” one of Egypt’s few independent outlets, which started eight years ago as a fact-checking platform and has since expanded into investigative reporting in Egypt and other Arab countries.

“The claims are false,” said Abdelrahman Mansour, one of the founders of Matsadaash. He noted that after two of its editors were arrested in 2023, State Security investigators found no affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood. The editors were released after 36 hours and never charged.

“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 US-based Committee to Protect Journalists. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights says 26 journalists are now behind bars 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 exercises of expression to thrive flies in the face of a purported commitment to dialogue, transparency, anti-corruption, and regional leadership.”

In a statement Thursday, Egypt’s Interior Ministry described Matsadaash as an unlicensed page managed from abroad by a “fugitive Brotherhood member” it identified as Mansour.

It said the six 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 statement said. It said legal measures have been taken but did not specify charges.

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 journalists’ whereabouts are unknown

The first arrest occurred Monday about 9 p.m. when authorities went to the home of Abdallah Qadry, Mansour said. The other five members of staff were arrested Tuesday, starting with Mohamed Abu Emaira, who was taken from his home about 1 a.m. According to Mansour, Emaira’s library and internet router were destroyed during the arrest.

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

All had their cellphones and computers confiscated.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a prominent advocacy group, said the whereabouts of all six remain unknown.

“They have not been allowed to contact their families or legal team,” EIPR said, adding that it was the first time an entire newsroom had been arrested in Egypt.