Over 70 organisations, including news outlets, human rights groups, international foundations and syndicates, have issued a statement condemning the detention of six journalists from a Cairo-based fact-checking newsroom by security forces in late September and calling for their urgent release.
The organisations shed light on the escalating crackdown on the Matsad2sh platform (Arabic for ‘don’t believe’) and the six journalists who were detained following raids on their homes on 28 and 29 September.
The journalists have been identified as Abdallah Qadri, Mohamed Ashraf Abu Emeira, Mohamed Adel, Islam Barakat, Mohamed Mahmoud and Omar Helal. All remain behind bars, with some telling their lawyers that they have faced torture and beatings.
“Independent journalism is critical in any free society and Egyptian authorities’ failure to allow the free exercise of the right to expression goes against a purported commitment to dialogue, transparency, anti-corruption, and regional leadership,” the joint statement from the 79 organisations reads.
“The crackdown on the Matsadaash platform and these arrests are alarming escalations on independent media and freedom of expression that cannot be allowed to stand,” the statement adds.
Some of the signatories include Access Now, Daraj Media, Democracy for the Arab World Now, Global Voices, Greece Fact Check, Human Rights Watch, Mada Masr, Kawaakibi Foundation, PEN Lebanon and Raseef22, among others.
The development comes after the head of Egypt’s Journalists Syndicate reiterated that it would continue to push for press freedom.
Detention renewed
It also comes after Egypt’s state security prosecution on Tuesday renewed the detention of the six journalists for 15 days, pending further investigations.
The journalists’ lawyers confirmed to local media that the renewal was ordered on Tuesday following questioning that started at 1pm and continued into the evening. The questioning touched on their wages, the structure of the fact-checking platform and their work. However, no evidence related to the allegations was presented.
Egyptian prosecutors have accused the journalists of being linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, a group which the government has targeted for years, claiming it is a “terrorist” organisation, which the movement has strongly denied. The co-founder of Matsad2sh, Abdelrahman Mansour, has also rejected any links between the platform and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The prosecution has also accused them of spreading false news, misusing social media and receiving foreign funding.
The journalists’ lawyers say they are due to receive family visits from today and be granted time for exercise.
According to MENA Rights Group, the fact-checking platform was previously targeted by Egyptian authorities in 2023, when an editor was arrested and then released after 48 hours. The group says the platform has also been subjected to smear campaigns.
Egypt is one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, with at least 19 currently behind bars.
