Egypt arrests entire Matsadaash editorial team on Muslim Brotherhood accusations

Six journalists from the independent outlet Matsadaash were detained on Thursday, with authorities alleging links to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

By Felo News Desk · Published Fri, 02 Oct 2026 11:22:44 GMT

Egyptian authorities detained the six journalists of independent outlet Matsadaash on Thursday, accusing them of belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, according to reports from the New York Post and News18.

What happened

The entire editorial team of Matsadaash – Mohamed Ashraf, Omar Helal, Islam Barakat, Mohamed Adel, Mohamed Mahmoud and Abdallah Qadry – was arrested on Thursday. Authorities alleged the journalists were members of the Muslim Brotherhood and that they produced fabricated news for an online outlet in exchange for foreign funding.

What the reports add

The New York Post noted that Egypt’s Interior Ministry described Matsadaash as an “unlicensed page managed from abroad by a ‘fugitive Brotherhood member’” identified as co‑founder Abdelrahman Mansour, and said the six were part of a Brotherhood “media committee” that prepared false news for Mansour to publish.
Both outlets reported that only one of the six is a member of the Journalists’ Syndicate, Egypt’s national press union.
The first arrest occurred on Monday night at the home of Abdallah Qadry; the remaining five were taken on Tuesday, beginning with Mohamed Abu Emaira, whose library and internet router were reportedly destroyed during the raid.
Omar Helal was seized in Port Said, Islam Barakat in Gharbia Governorate, and Mohamed Mahmoud and Mohamed Adel in Cairo; all had their cellphones and computers confiscated.
The Matsadaash website is blocked in Egypt, but its Facebook page has more than one million followers.
News18 highlighted that this is the first time an entire newsroom has been arrested in Egypt and added that the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the journalists “have not been allowed to contact their families or legal team.”
Both reports cited the Committee to Protect Journalists, which lists Egypt among the world’s worst jailers of journalists, and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, which says 26 journalists are currently behind bars.

What was said

“The claims are false,” Matsadaash co‑founder Abdelrahman Mansour said from outside Egypt, according to both sources.

“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,” he added, speaking to the New York Post.

“It’s very difficult for us to understand why this is happening,” Mansour told News18.

How it came about

Founded eight years ago as a fact‑checking platform, Matsadaash later expanded into investigative reporting across Egypt and other Arab countries. The outlet’s previous arrests in 2023, which ended without charges after State Security investigators found no Brotherhood affiliation, illustrate a pattern of state pressure on independent media.

Key facts

Six journalists from Matsadaash were arrested on Thursday. (nypost.com)
Authorities accused them of Muslim Brotherhood membership and producing fabricated news for foreign funding. (news18.com)
Mansour, co‑founder of Matsadaash, denied the allegations and said the team was unaware of any wrongdoing. (nypost.com)