After being sued by members of the Mustaqbal Watan party (“The Future of the Nation”, close to the regime), due to an article that stated that the faction is involved in “very serious financial violations” of the law that may “lead to its withdrawal from the political arena”
The director and three editors of the Egyptian independent online newspaper Manda Masr, with a tone often critical of the regime of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, were questioned yesterday Wednesday by the judiciary, as they are accused of “spreading false news”, its editors announced.
Lina Atala, the director of Manda Masr, and the editors, Rana Mamdu, Sara Saif Eddin and Bishan Kasab, were summoned after being sued by members of the regime-aligned Mustaqbal Watan (The Future of the Nation) party because article which stated that the faction is involved in “very serious financial violations” of the legislation that may “lead to its withdrawal from the political scene” of the most populous Arab country.
According to Manda Masr’s report, the four journalists, who were released with restrictive conditions last night, are accused of “defamation”, “harassment through the internet” and “spreading false news with the aim of destabilizing the country”.
Although the 2014 Constitution theoretically guarantees freedom of the press in Egypt, some twenty reporters are behind bars and the country is often criticized for its human rights record, with some 60,000 people in prison for crimes of opinion, among them many accused or have been convicted of “spreading false news”, according to international NGOs.
In 2022, Cairo was ranked 168th out of 180 countries in the press freedom ranking compiled by the non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).
Manda Masr publishes—in Arabic and English—reports and investigations on security and corruption issues, among others.
The online newspaper is among hundreds of websites blocked by the authorities in recent years, accessible to Egyptians only through VPNs (Virtual Private Networks).
In late 2019, police raided the online newspaper’s offices in Cairo and arrested three journalists, including Ms. Atala. Its director Manda Masr was briefly detained again in May 2020.
For RSF, the accusations against Manda Masr journalists are an “extremely worrying development” as it affects one of the last publications “that has not come under the control or influence of the government” of Mr Sisi.
“The persecution, intimidation and incessant arrests of journalists in Egypt are reaching a new dangerous peak and must stop,” the NGO said in a press release published on Wednesday.
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
