NEW YORK CITY, New York: Egyptian authorities have arrested all six journalists working for Matsadaash, one of the country's few independent media outlets.

The arrests began on September 28 and continued the following day, according to Matsadaash co-founder Abdelrahman Mansour. The journalists' phones and computers were confiscated, and their current whereabouts remain unknown.

Egyptian authorities alleged that the six journalists were members of a Muslim Brotherhood "media committee". The Interior Ministry accused them of preparing false and fabricated reports for Mansour to publish in return for foreign funding.

Only one of the six journalists is a member of Egypt's Journalists' Syndicate, the country's national press union, according to the Interior Ministry. The ministry said it had taken legal action but did not provide details of the charges.

Mansour rejected the allegations and said he and the families of the detained journalists had no information about where they were being held.

"Everyone on this team knew the risks when they went to work every day, but it's unacceptable for the government to make false accusations and forcibly disappear journalists just because they're afraid of a free press," Mansour said from outside Egypt.

The first arrest took place on the night of September 28, when authorities went to Abdallah Qadry's home, according to Mansour.

Authorities arrested five other newsroom employees the following day. Mohamed Abu Emaira was taken from his home in the early hours, and Mansour said his library and internet router were damaged during the arrest.

Omar Helal was arrested in Port Said, while Islam Barakat was detained in Gharbia Governorate. Two other Matsadaash staff members, Mohamed Mahmoud and Mohamed Adel, were arrested in Cairo.

Authorities took all six journalists' mobile phones and computers.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the journalists had not been allowed to contact their families or lawyers. It also said the arrests marked the first time an entire newsroom had been detained in Egypt.

Matsadaash was founded in 2018 as an online fact-checking platform. It later expanded into investigative journalism covering Egypt and other Arab countries.

The outlet has gained a large following in Egypt, where independent media face heavy restrictions and government oversight of newspapers and television networks is widespread. Its website is blocked in Egypt, but its Facebook page has more than one million followers.

Mansour said two editors at Matsadaash were also arrested in 2023. They were later released without charge after State Security investigators found no links between them and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The latest allegations against the six journalists have not been independently established.

More than 80 rights groups, civil society organizations and independent media outlets have called on Egyptian authorities to release the journalists.