Masr al-Arabia journalists say raid on its offices prompted by decision to run New York Times piece on alleged election irregularities

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Egyptian police have raided the office of a news website and arrested its editor-in-chief as part of a wider crack down on media that reported allegations of vote buying during last month’s presidential election. Two journalists at the website quoted the site’s lawyers as saying that police said they had acted because the website did not have a permit to operate. The New York Times defended its reporting. “We stand by the accuracy of our reporting and strongly condemn any arrests meant to intimidate journalists and stifle freedom of the press,” Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for the New York Times Co, said in an emailed statement. Based on police investigations since Tuesday, a prosecutor in Cairo’s Dokki district accused Sabry of belonging to a terrorist group, publishing false news, using text and visuals that contradict the constitution, and inciting demonstrations, said Eman Hamed, the defendant’s lawyer. “The authorities have also continued to blur the red lines journalists have known for years under Sisi,” he said. Masr al-Arabia is one of about 500 websites that have been blocked in Egypt in recent months, although some are still accessible through virtual private networks. Rights groups say the closures amount to a crackdown against freedom of expression. Authorities say curbing fictitious news is necessary for national security. President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi, who ran virtually unopposed, secured a second term by winning 97 percent of the vote, according to official results.
Egyptian news site Masr al-Arabia says its offices were raided and a journalist arrested in response to the republication of an article by The New York Times alleging irregularities in the nation's recent Presidential election.