CAIRO — Egyptian authorities arrested six journalists from the independent fact-checking and investigative platform Matsadaash on September 28 and 29, 2026. The arrests targeted Abdallah Qadri, Mohamed Ashraf, Mohamed Adel, Islam Barakat, Mohamed Mahmoud, and Omar Helal.

Egyptian authorities charged Mohamed Ashraf with joining a terrorist group and spreading false news. The whereabouts of the five journalists other than Mohamed Ashraf remain unknown as of October 4, 2026.

The detentions occurred across multiple locations. Abdallah Qadri was arrested on Monday night at his home. Mohamed Abu Emaira was arrested on Tuesday in the early hours at his home.

Security forces destroyed Mohamed Abu Emaira's library and internet router during his arrest. Omar Helal was arrested in Port Said. Islam Barakat was arrested in Gharbia Governorate. Mohamed Mahmoud and Mohamed Adel were arrested in Cairo. Security forces confiscated cellphones and computers from all six arrested journalists.

Mohamed Ashraf was held for 15 days pending investigation under the Counterterrorism Law. This legal provision allows suspects to be detained beyond the usual 48-hour limit without formal charges. Mohamed Ashraf underwent an interrogation from 10pm to 8am that focused exclusively on material published by Matsadaash. The detained journalists have not been allowed to contact their families or legal team.

Egyptian authorities accused the six journalists of being unlicensed and publishing false news on behalf of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Officials alleged the journalists produced fabricated news for an online outlet in exchange for foreign funding. The Egyptian Interior Ministry described Matsadaash as an unlicensed page managed from abroad by Abdelrahman Mansour, whom it identified as a fugitive Muslim Brotherhood member.

The ministry stated that only one of the six detained individuals is a member of the Journalists’ Syndicate. "Everyone on this team knew the risks when they went to work every day, but it’s unacceptable for the government to make false accusations and forcibly disappear journalists just because they’re afraid of a free press," Mansour said. "Their families are worried, we’re worried, we just want them released unharmed," he said.

Abdelrahman Mansour is the co-founder of Matsadaash. He denied having any association with the Muslim Brotherhood. "My colleagues were doing what journalists should do: asking difficult questions, uncovering facts, and reporting on issues that affect people’s lives," he said. "Instead, their homes were raided, and all six were taken away."

"The government must answer this question: why have you arrested six journalists?" he asked. "What have they done beyond doing their jobs?"

Matsadaash was founded eight years ago as a fact-checking platform and has since expanded into investigative reporting. The Matsadaash website is blocked in Egypt. The Matsadaash Facebook page has more than one million followers.

In 2023, two Matsadaash editors were arrested but released without charge after State Security investigators found no affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood. He said the platform had previously faced summonses, including in 2023, when a journalist was questioned and later released.

Dozens of journalists staged a sit-in outside the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate in Cairo on Saturday demanding the release of the Matsadaash staff. The Egyptian Journalists Syndicate filed a request with the Ministry of Interior and public prosecutor for the release of the journalists and information on their whereabouts. The syndicate said it would convene an emergency meeting on Monday.

More than 80 rights groups condemned the arrests and demanded the immediate release of the Matsadaash staff. Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists were among the groups condemning the arrests. Reporters Without Borders was among the groups signing the petition.

The US government waived its human rights conditions on $320m in military aid to Egypt. The US cited Cairo’s helpful role to US national security after the US-Iran war as the reason for waiving the human rights conditions. The US gives about $1.3bn in aid to Egypt annually.

A portion of US aid to Egypt is contingent upon the Egyptian government meeting certain human rights and democracy-related requirements. A US State Department memo stated that waiving the human rights requirement was essential for the US-Egypt relationship and US national security priorities. He said the use of the national security waiver on human rights conditions by the US enables violations to occur more easily.

Why It Matters

About 26 journalists are held in Egyptian prisons, according to the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate. Egypt ranks 169th out of 180 countries on the Reporters Without Borders Press freedom index. Freedom House stated that Egyptian security forces engage in human rights abuses and extrajudicial killing with impunity. The Egyptian Interior Ministry has a documented history of accusing independent media outlets and journalists of affiliations with the Muslim Brotherhood, often without evidence, as part of broader efforts to suppress dissent.

Egypt designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization in 2013. The designation followed the ousting of former president Mohamed Morsi in a coup. Mohamed Morsi was a senior Muslim Brotherhood figure. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 in Egypt as a social and religious movement opposing British colonial rule. The organization is banned in Jordan. The Egyptian Interior Ministry’s statement accused Matsadaash of being managed from abroad and receiving foreign funding, but no evidence of such claims has been publicly presented, raising questions about the legitimacy of the accusations.

Timeline

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood was designated a terrorist organization after former president Mohamed Morsi was ousted in a coup. He said two Matsadaash editors were arrested in 2023 but released without charge after State Security investigators found no affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.

What's New

The Egyptian Interior Ministry accused Matsadaash of seeking to destabilize the country through disinformation, describing it as an unlicensed, foreign-run page spreading false content and linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. The founder of Matsadaash, Abdelrahman Mansour, rejected these accusations, stating that the authorities know the claims are untrue. The Muslim Brotherhood was designated a terrorist organization by the Egyptian government in 2013, following the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi, and has since been frequently used as a political tool to justify crackdowns on critics and journalists.

On September 28 and 29, 2026, Egyptian security forces arrested six journalists working for the independent investigative journalism platform Matsadaash, and their whereabouts remain unknown as of October 4, 2026. The arrests occurred in various locations, including homes in Gharbiya and Port Said, and Cairo streets. The Egyptian Interior Ministry’s statement accused Matsadaash of being managed from abroad and receiving foreign funding, but no evidence of such claims has been publicly presented.

In 2023, two Matsadaash editors were arrested and later released without charge after investigations found no affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, suggesting a pattern of false accusations against the platform. He, co-founder of Matsadaash, has previously faced summonses from authorities, including in 2023, when a journalist from his platform was questioned and later released, indicating a prior pattern of interaction with state security forces.