Egypt Human Rights Caucus Co-Chairs Urge Immediate Release of Detained Egyptian Journalists

"As co-chairs of the Egypt Human Rights Caucus, we call on Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release the six journalists affiliated with the independent investigative journalism platform Matsadaash. The arrest of the outlet's entire newsroom is a clear escalation in the government's campaign to stifle press freedom in the country.

"Even prior to these arrests, Egypt has consistently ranked as one of the world's most repressive regimes and has a long history of unfairly targeting independent media outlets and drastically limiting freedom of expression. Egyptian authorities regularly claim, without sufficient evidence or due process, that critics of the government are members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The recent arrests are the latest and most alarming case of this tactic on display.

"We have tried to engage constructively with the Egyptian government on our concerns about the country's human rights situation, including its arbitrary detention of journalists and targeting of media outlets. These arrests demonstrate why Congress must strengthen its resolve, demand better from its partner, and continue to condition U.S. military aid to Egypt on demonstrable rights reforms."