Egypt detains entire newsroom over alleged links with banned organization

CAIRO, Egypt (MNTV) — Egyptian authorities have detained the entire editorial team of independent media outlet Matsadaash, accusing its journalists of links to the banned Muslim Brotherhood in a crackdown that has prompted widespread concern over press freedom.

Egyptian media reported that six journalists were detained after security forces raided their homes and confiscated equipment, while Egyptian authorities accused the outlet of publishing fabricated information and receiving foreign funding. 

Matsadaash and its co-founder Abdelrahman Mansour have denied the allegations.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry alleged that the organization was being operated illegally from abroad by what it described as a fugitive Muslim Brotherhood member, referring to Mansour, and characterized those detained as members of a Brotherhood-linked media committee.

Mansour, who lives outside Egypt, rejected the government’s account and raised concern that the detained journalists had been held incommunicado.

More than 80 international and regional rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders, condemned the arrests, according to the report, warning that the case represented another blow to independent journalism in Egypt.

Founded in 2018 initially as a fact-checking initiative, Matsadaash developed into an investigative media platform and accumulated more than one million followers.

The detention of an entire editorial team marks an extraordinary escalation against one of the country’s remaining independent newsrooms, as Egyptian authorities continue to face criticism from press freedom organizations over the imprisonment and prosecution of journalists.