Key facts
- The UN human rights office called on Egypt to release all Matsaddash reporters and drop the charges against them.
- Egyptian police arrested six Matsaddash journalists in September on accusations of spreading misinformation for the banned Muslim Brotherhood; the outlet denied it.
- An Egyptian court convicted the Mada Masr editor-in-chief in October of running the site without a licence and ordered it closed.
The United Nations human rights office voiced alarm on November 10 about treatment of the press by Egyptian authorities and called on Egypt to release detained journalists, Reuters reported from Geneva.
The office's spokesperson, Thameen Al-Kheetan, said the authorities must release all Matsaddash reporters and drop charges related to their journalistic work. He said journalists must be able to work free from intimidation and reprisals.
Egyptian police arrested the full newsroom of the fact-checking outlet Matsaddash in September, accusing six journalists of spreading misinformation for the banned Muslim Brotherhood. The publication denied the accusation.
In October, an Egyptian court convicted the editor-in-chief of the independent news website Mada Masr of running it without a licence and ordered the site closed.