Eipr Condemns Arrest All 6 Matsaddash Journalists Less 24 Hours

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) condemns the security crackdown on the news platform Matsaddash, which began on Monday evening and continued over the following 24 hours. Six journalists have now been arrested, comprising the platform’s entire team.

EIPR lawyers represent all six journalists, whose whereabouts remain unknown. They have not been allowed to their families or legal team.

The crackdown began with raids on the homes of journalists Mohamed Ashraf Abu Emeira and Abdallah Qadry, who were arrested on Monday evening and early Tuesday morning. Raids on the homes of other journalists working for the platform continued across several governorates over the following hours.

EIPR calls on Public Prosecutor Mohamed Shawky to open an urgent investigation to establish where the six journalists are being held and examine the circumstances of their arrests, which saw plainclothes security personnel raid some of their homes and confiscate electronic devices belonging to all family members and others living with them. The raiding personnel also refused to show the journalists’ families arrest and warrants issued by the prosecution or disclose the reasons for the arrests or where they would be held.

This is not the first time authorities have detained a Matsaddash journalist without disclosing a legal basis. In August 2023, an editor at the platform was arrested during a raid on his and held at a security agency’s premises for 48 hours before being released.

Matsaddash is an independent fact-checking platform that has operated since 2018. Its team of independent journalists and researchers works to debunk false information in Egypt and other Arab countries. The arrest of its entire team brings the number of Egyptian journalists held in connection with their work to 26.

The disappeared Matsaddash journalists are well known across the region, and their work for the platform is recognized for its professionalism and accuracy. They have committed no crime that warrants the treatment they have received, and none had ever been summoned for questioning.

EIPR holds the Public Prosecution fully responsible for the safety of all those arrested and demands that its legal team be allowed to visit them and take the necessary steps to defend them.

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