The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Friday, October 23, 2026, that 25 journalists are behind bars in Egypt, the highest number since 2021, in a report on the Egyptian authorities’ crackdown on the independent press prepared by Mohamed Mandour, a researcher in the committee’s Middle East and North Africa program.
Sara Qudah, the committee’s regional director, said the Egyptian authorities “are moving on multiple fronts to dismantle independent journalism,” by detaining an entire newsroom, putting Mada Masr editor-in-chief Lina Attalah on trial, and intimidating journalists who hold power to account, and added: “The message is clear: no journalist is safe.”
The report said the crackdown intensified in late September, when security forces arrested the journalists of the Matsadaash platform, who face charges of joining and funding a terrorist group and spreading false news. Weeks later, prosecutors summoned independent journalist Rasha Azab for questioning over her social media posts, and summoned Attalah, then released both on bail, and referred Attalah to trial on charges of establishing and managing a website without a license. The report said the authorities circumvented the constitutional ban on imprisonment in publication cases by using the 2015 Anti-Terrorism Law.
Article 105 of the Press and Media Regulation Law punishes anyone convicted of this charge with a fine of 1 million to 3 million pounds ($20,704 to $62,112), and the court may order the website closed and its equipment confiscated. Attalah’s trial begins on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, after she was questioned in Case No. 9072 of 2026 Supreme State Security. The report noted that the European Union approved 1.5 billion euros in funding for Egypt, that the United States waived human rights conditions tied to military aid, and that the US and European governments have remained publicly silent on the arrests.
Photo: Jennifer 8. Lee via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
