The referral of independent outlet Mada Masr’s editor-in-chief
Lina Attalah
to trial, alongside the recent detention of an entire newsroom and the targeting of independent journalists, signals an escalating campaign to silence Egypt’s remaining independent media.
In the space of a single month, Egyptian authorities detained all six journalists at the investigative and fact-checking platform Matsadaash, referred Attalah to trial over Mada Masr’s reporting, and summoned independent journalist
Rasha Azab
for questioning over her social media posts. Together, the cases reveal a widening assault on the people, practices, and institutions that make independent journalism possible.
“We have always worked in difficult conditions, but I have never been as worried about the future of journalism as I am now,” Nora Younis, editor-in-chief of the Cairo-based independent outlet Al-Manassa, told CPJ. “Independent journalism in Egypt has moved from facing restrictions and threats to facing an existential danger.”
The intensified crackdown began in late September, when security forces
arrested
the Matsadaash journalists. For days they were held in secret locations, with authorities withholding their whereabouts from both their families and their lawyers. After
five days
, they appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution, where they
detailed
alleged abuses, including being beaten and electrocuted which they described as torture, and said they had been forced to record fabricated confessions.
Within weeks, prosecutors also summoned
Azab
and
Attalah
. Azab was
questioned
over her tweets, while Attalah was
questioned
about a recent Mada Masr
report
on a wave of protests in prisons across the country. Both were
released
on bail, but Attalah was
referred
to trial.
Azab, who described the recent crackdown as unprecedented and systematic, said “its timing is no accident.” According to her, the arrests are clearing the ground for major political d
… [more]
