Egypt.. The Public Prosecution Issues a Statement Regarding "Motsadash" and Responds to Allegations of "Torture"

- The Egyptian Public Prosecution issued a statement on Wednesday regarding the six journalists from the "Motsadash" platform who were arrested last week, indicating that they have been ordered to be held in pretrial detention while investigations continue, adding that it has been confirmed "that there are no injuries on any of the defendants or signs indicating the use of violence against them." The prosecution stated that it issued an order to apprehend the "defendants and search them," adding that "the defendants were interrogated in the presence of their lawyers, and a member of the Journalists' Syndicate was present with the defendant who is a member of the syndicate."

The statement added that "the first of the defendants who was interrogated admitted during the investigations to his joining the arrested defendants – and others – to the media committee of the Muslim Brotherhood, and their work on the page affiliated with it called Motsadash, which is managed by a member of the group who is currently outside the country." The Public Prosecution's statement also mentioned that the defendants participated in "a scheme by the Muslim Brotherhood and its aims to overthrow state institutions."

The prosecution continued its statement by saying: "The defendants denied their affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, except for one of them, who stated that he had previously joined it and separated from it" before his work with the "Motsadash" platform. The prosecution also addressed reports about the detained journalists being subjected to torture, stating in the statement: "The Public Prosecution has confirmed that there are no visible injuries on any of the defendants."

It added: "Those who claimed to have been subjected to cruelty – numbering three – were referred to the Forensic Medicine Authority, which confirmed in its reports that they had no injuries and that there were no signs indicating the use of any violence against them." The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (an Egyptian human rights organization) reported on Monday that defense lawyers who attended the investigations with the six journalists from the platform specialized in news verification stated that "most of the journalists confirmed before the Supreme State Security Prosecution...

that they were subjected to various forms of torture and ill-treatment during their detention at different locations of the National Security Sector." Amnesty International issued a statement last week calling on the Egyptian authorities "to immediately release the journalists who were arrested within less than 24 hours from September 28 to 29."

At that time, the arrest of the journalists was described as a "severe blow to freedom of expression and a widespread attack on the entire editorial team of the platform." The Egyptian Journalists' Syndicate expressed, in a statement, its "deep concern following the detention of six journalists, including five trainees," and decided to file a complaint with the public prosecutor "regarding the reports of colleagues being subjected to physical violations during their detention, being forced to make false statements or recordings, and the invalidation of any confessions obtained under duress."

The council decided to form a permanent committee "to follow up on the case and to seek all legal expertise to support the colleagues, demanding their release with the union's guarantee, or any other guarantees that take into account the youth of some of them and their limited experience."