Egyptian authorities have accused six journalists of belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood NEW YORK -- 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. 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. 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.
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.
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 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.
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