Amnesty International has documented the torture and enforced disappearance of six journalists working for the independent Egyptian fact-checking platform Matsadaash after their arrest. The arrests targeted the platform’s entire editorial team inside Egypt. They face accusations including “financing terrorism”, an offence that can carry the death penalty, the organisation said.
In an urgent appeal issued on 16 October 2026, Amnesty said Egyptian security forces arrested Mohamed Ashraf Abu Emeira, Abdallah Qadry, Islam Barakat, Omar Helal, Mohamed Mahmoud and Mohamed Adel in raids beginning late on 28 September and continuing on 29 September. They were arrested at homes in Giza, Gharbiya and Port Said, and on Cairo streets. Officers confiscated phones and computers belonging to the journalists and their relatives without showing arrest warrants or telling families where the journalists were being taken.
The six were forcibly disappeared for five to six days, held in undisclosed locations and denied contact with their families and lawyers before appearing before the Supreme State Security Prosecution on 4 October, Amnesty said. Citing a defence lawyer, the organisation reported that the journalists told prosecutors that National Security Agency officers tortured them at agency premises through beatings, electric shocks and threats to harm their families.
All six were blindfolded, and some had their hands cuffed behind their backs. Officers forced them to read prepared statements incriminating themselves on camera and threatened further torture if they disclosed the abuse, the appeal said.
Defence lawyers asked prosecutors to register the accounts of enforced disappearance, torture and coerced statements as formal complaints, investigate them, refer the journalists for forensic examinations to document their injuries, and hold those responsible accountable.
Prosecutors accused the journalists of joining a terrorist group identified as the Muslim Brotherhood, “financing terrorism”, using an online account to promote a terrorist group’s ideas, and publishing “false news”. They initially ordered 15 days’ detention. Their detention was renewed for another 15 days at a hearing on 13 October, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights’ statement published the following day. Five journalists are held in Badr 1 prison, while Mohamed Ashraf Abu Emeira is held in 10th of Ramadan 4 prison.
Prosecution and defence accounts
In a statement on 7 October, the Public Prosecution alleged that Matsadaash operated as a media committee affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. It cited a “confession” by one journalist, bank transfers and electronic communications. It also said none of the six had visible injuries and that forensic examinations of three found no injuries or signs of violence.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, whose lawyers represent the journalists, responded that prosecutors had presented lawful employment arrangements and routine editorial correspondence as evidence of criminal activity.
Matsadaash specialises in fact-checking and investigative reporting, including scrutiny of official statements. Its work has examined government claims about refugee and migrant numbers in Egypt and spending on health and education. The platform, whose work challenges misleading information, now faces accusations of publishing “false news”. In 2023, one of its editors, Karim Asaad, was detained for about two days over the platform’s coverage of a private aircraft seized in Zambia after arriving from Egypt.
A wider crackdown
Amnesty places the arrests within a prolonged crackdown on independent media in Egypt since 2016, involving the arrest of dozens of journalists and media workers, terrorism-related prosecutions and the blocking of hundreds of websites. Media and cybercrime legislation adopted in 2018 further expanded state powers over content, the organisation said.
Amnesty also cited harsh detention conditions it has documented at Badr prison, including constant camera surveillance and lighting, humiliating searches, and restrictions on visits and correspondence.
The arrests prompted solidarity actions, including a sit-in at the Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate on 3 October demanding the journalists’ release. On 5 October, journalist Rasha Azab, who had taken part, was questioned over a social media post criticising the Interior Ministry, accused of promoting terrorist acts, and released on bail of EGP 10,000.
The appeal, indexed MDE 12/1575/2026, says questioning addressed the platform’s staff, editorial decisions and verification methods, as well as the journalists’ personal backgrounds and political and religious views. During questioning, the journalists explained that their work involved checking information, including material obtained from official sources. That work underpins Amnesty’s call for the charges to be dropped.
The organisation also demanded confidential access to lawyers and regular family contact, protection against reprisals targeting the journalists or their relatives for reporting abuse, and access to healthcare. It stressed that adequate care and detention conditions remain obligations pending release, alongside an effective investigation independent of the agencies accused of abuse.
These demands concern an investigation into torture and enforced disappearance complaints separately from the examination of accusations against the journalists. The accusations do not constitute convictions. Presenting the prosecution’s account or the defence’s requests does not resolve the disputed facts, which Amnesty says require an independent and impartial investigation and accountability for anyone found responsible.
Amnesty called on Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all six journalists and drop all charges, saying they stem solely from their exercise of freedom of expression and their media work. Pending release, it urged protection from torture and other ill-treatment, contact with families and lawyers, access to healthcare, and a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into allegations of torture and enforced disappearance.
