The marathon interrogation session of journalist and media figure Rasha Qandeel, which lasted around eight hours, focused on her professional history, the platforms where she publishes her work, and several social media posts, according to her defense attorney, Nabih Al-Ganady.
The former BBC presenter and current spokesperson for the nascent Hope Current party was released Saturday evening on bail of 50,000 Egyptian pounds (around $1004) pending investigation in case no. 4169/2025 by the Supreme State Security Prosecution. The charges accuse her of “broadcasting false news about the country domestically and internationally.”
According to Al-Ganady, the charges were prompted by 31 identical legal complaints filed by citizens from various governorates earlier in May.
Qandeel told Al Manassa that the uniformity and timing of the reports, which referenced investigations she published the previous year, are “malicious and suspicious.”
“They all knew my full legal name, date of birth, and both my current and former addresses,” she said.
During the interrogation, Qandeel was questioned about a post she published on April 30, sharing a report by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies detailing reprisals against political dissidents and their families. This includes the cases of Alaa Abdel Fattah, Hoda Abdel-Moneim, Mohamed Ibrahim (Oxygen), and Ahmed Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh.
Prosecutors also cited an Instagram post in which she shared an article she authored for the website Sotour about French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Cairo's Khan El-Khalili and the history of Egypt’s foreign debt.
Another piece mentioned was her March 17 article “Sovereign Fund 2,” which alleged that the imprisonment of engineer Yehia Hussein Abdelhady, founder of the Civil Democratic Movement, and former top auditor Hisham Geneina, was tied to their exposure of corruption.
Investigators also referenced her April 7 series “Egypt: Between Military Rule and the Police State,” published on Sutoor.
Qandeel denied the charges, insisting the articles were the product of rigorous investigative journalism.
“This is nothing but an attempt to silence me,” Qandeel said, arguing that releasing her on bail signals an ongoing case that could be used to intimidate her into halting her work.
Her lawyer said prosecutors confronted her with National Security Agency reports accusing her of spreading false information that could damage national interests and incite public fear.
Qandeel was summoned last Thursday for the Sunday session, according to her lawyer Khaled Ali. She received an official notice at her residence, which she described as “the most honorable letter I’ve ever received.”
According to El-Genady, prosecutors also presented National Security Agency findings supporting the accusation that she “spread false information domestically and abroad, likely to harm public interest and spread panic.”
He said the interrogation focused heavily on her article titled “Egypt on the Brink of Explosion”, in which she compared the country's post-2011 political and economic conditions to the present.
She also analyzed Egypt’s contrasting responses to Israel’s war on Gaza in 2008 and the ongoing military campaign since October 2023, while reflecting on current and past parliamentary experiences.
If convicted, Qandeel could face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 500,000 pounds (around $10,040)— or both — under Article 80(d) of the Penal Code, a provision whose constitutionality has been questioned for imposing harsher penalties when information is shared “abroad.”
The journalist, who recently faced backlash over three investigations published on Sutoor under the title “The Egyptian Arsenal” responded to the criticism in a Facebook video. She called the attacks a “petty security campaign,” adding, “I meant every word and I stand by it.”
Responding to allegations of insulting the army, she said, “I have never insulted the Egyptian military in any of my work. My 25-year record is publicly available on YouTube and Facebook.” She distinguished between the military institution itself and political actors who, she said, have exploited it since the 2011 Maspero massacre.
“The Egyptian army should not be selling cheese, olives, or sardines,” she said, adding, “To me, the army means those who fight on the frontlines, like half of my family.”
Since her husband, opposition figure Ahmed Tantawy, was sentenced to a year in prison with labor in the “popular endorsements case.” for printing unauthorized election documents,
Qandeel has been vocal about their shared political stance. “We are calling for justice, not a presidential pardon,” she said at a press conference at the Karama Party headquarters.
On Saturday, the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms condemned the legal actions against her, calling for authorities to stop targeting journalists and respect constitutional protections for freedom of expression.
Egypt ranked 170 out of 180 in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index issued by Reporters Without Borders, down from 166 the previous year. The organization continues to categorize Egypt as “very serious” for journalists, marking it in dark red on its global press freedom map.
Over the past decade, Egypt's classification has worsened from “difficult” to “very serious”. The RSF report described Egypt as one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists, far removed from the freedom aspirations of the 2011 revolution.
The report condemned the lack of media pluralism, noting that the state owns the country’s three most popular national newspapers—Al-Akhbar, Al-Ahram, and Al-Gomhuriya—while independent outlets face intense censorship and judicial harassment. Radio and television, the report said, have been reduced to tools of political propaganda.
“Raids, newsroom closures, arrests, sham trials, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions remain a daily reality for reporters in Egypt,” the report said. “It is not uncommon to witness smear campaigns against them, and surveillance is ubiquitous. Permits are required for travel to certain areas, such as the Sinai and the Suez Canal.”
A May report by the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms noted that more than 23 journalists—unionized and non-unionized—remain in pretrial detention, including Al Manassa cartoonist Ashraf Omar.
Journalist Ahmed Serag was also arrested after interviewing Nada Mougheeth, Omar’s wife, about the circumstances of his arrest at their home.
Article 70 of Egypt’s Constitution guarantees freedom of the press across all platforms: print, audio, visual, and digital.
