Key facts
- Six journalists from the platform Matsadaash were arrested by Egyptian authorities.
- The journalists face terrorism charges and allege torture and forced confessions.
- Authorities deny the torture allegations and state forensic examinations found no injuries.
- Another journalist, Rasha Azab, faces charges for a social media post criticizing the interior ministry.
Egyptian journalists are planning a protest in Cairo this weekend following the arrest and charging of six colleagues from the independent fact-checking platform Matsadaash with terrorism offenses. The detained journalists allege they were subjected to torture and forced to film false confessions while in police custody.
Authorities arrested the six journalists, identified as Abdallah Qadri, Mohamed Ashraf Abu Emeira, Mohamed Adel, Islam Barakat, Mohamed Mahmoud, and Omar Helal, from their homes and public spaces. One journalist was charged on Sunday, with the remaining five facing charges late on Wednesday. The journalists have informed their lawyers of alleged torture, including blindfolding, handcuffing for days, beatings, forced stripping, and electric shocks, along with threats to their families. They also described being forced to read purported confessions during filmed sessions with "professional filming crews."
The public prosecution stated on Wednesday evening that forensic examinations of three journalists who alleged ill-treatment found no injuries or signs of violence. The interior ministry has denied all allegations of torture or mistreatment, labeling them as baseless attempts by the detainees to evade accusations and describing the six as "Muslim Brotherhood elements."
Separately, journalist Rasha Azab was questioned by the supreme state security prosecution for a social media post critical of the interior ministry regarding the arrests. Released on bail, Azab faces charges of using a website to promote ideas advocating terrorist crimes. Her lawyer noted that prosecutors presented 11 identical complaints against her for the post.
Lobna Darwish of the Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate, whose lawyers are representing the six Matsadaash journalists, detailed the alleged abuses. Hadeer El-Mahdawy, a journalist on the protest’s organizing committee, expressed horror at the news and emphasized the importance of rejecting the authorities' actions to protect the journalism profession.