Egypt: Journalists' Syndicate files complaint following the arrest of the entire Matsda2sh editorial team

The Egyptian Journalists' Syndicate decided unanimously on October 6, 2026, to file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor regarding physical violence suffered in detention by six journalists from the investigative platform Matsda2sh, who were arrested at the end of September. On the same day, a source from the Ministry of the Interior described these accusations as "entirely unfounded," reports Ahram Online.

An entire editorial team arrested

According to Human Rights Watch, Abdallah Qadry, Mohamed Ashraf Abu Emeira, Islam Barakat, Omar Helal, Mohamed Mahmoud, and Mohamed Adel were arrested on September 28 and 29, 2026, during coordinated raids, without warrants or reasons presented to their families. Ahram Online places the arrests on October 1. Founded in 2018, Matsda2sh published investigations and fact-checking work in Egypt and the region.

The six are being prosecuted for belonging to and financing a terrorist group and for using a website for the benefit of an extremist organization, reports the Egyptian site Manassa. The Ministry of the Interior has claimed since October 1 that the platform is allegedly operated from abroad on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood, an affiliation the editorial team has always denied.

What lawyers presented to the prosecutor

Before the Supreme State Security Prosecution on October 5 and 6, 2026, the journalists were interrogated for more than ten hours straight, and nearly twelve hours for one of them, according to Manassa. Their lawyers told the prosecutor that their clients had been shackled and blindfolded, beaten, and subjected to electric shocks, then forced to read pre-prepared statements on camera. The Syndicate speaks of "coercion to make false statements" and is requesting their release under its guarantee.

The official denial

The security source cited by Ahram Online presents these allegations as a maneuver intended to evade prosecution, reminding that "everyone is equal before the law" and that only judicial authorities are competent. The Syndicate notes that the detainees—one registered member and five interns—had valid employment contracts and were paid through Egyptian banks.

Press freedom under pressure

For Bassam Khawaja, deputy regional director of Human Rights Watch, arresting the entire editorial team of an independent platform at once is "deeply alarming." The NGO points out, citing the Committee to Protect Journalists, that 25 journalists are currently imprisoned in Egypt.

Mohamed Ashraf Abu Emeira has been placed in pre-trial detention for fifteen days in case 8083/2026, according to Manassa, and the Syndicate has set up a monitoring committee. Defending the rights of Africans also means demanding that their own states allow them to be informed: the outcome of this complaint will show what the word of a professional institution is worth in Egypt when faced with the security apparatus.