Egyptian journalist faces terrorism charges after entire newsroom detained

Calls for release of six Matsadaash staff after one is charged, while whereabouts of other five remain unknown

An Egyptian journalist has been charged with joining a terrorist group, days after an entire newsroom was detained in what rights groups have said is a crackdown on press freedoms.

Last week, authorities arrested six journalists from the independent fact-checking and investigative platform Matsadaash – literally meaning “don’t believe” – accusing them in a statement of being unlicensed and publishing false news on behalf of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.