Independent Egyptian media outlet says top editor arrested

A prominent investigative media outlet in Egypt said security forces detained its editor-in-chief Sunday, the latest arrest amid a wider crackdown on dissent.

Mada Masr, one of a shrinking number of independent news websites in Egypt, said Lina Attalah was arrested outside Cairo's Tora prison complex where she was interviewing Laila Soueif, the mother of jailed activist Alaa Abd El Fattah.

Abdel Fattah served a five-year prison sentence for violating Egypt's protest ban. In September, not long after his release, he was arrested again amid a widespread crackdown that followed small protests demanding current President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi step down although he did not participate in the protests.

He went on hunger strike over a month ago, and his family has been struggling to get him released in recent months amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Soueif was briefly arrested in March along with three others after they staged a protest to demand the release of prisoners amid the new coronavirus outbreak.

Mada Masr is one of the hundreds of websites blocked by the Egyptian government in recent years. The outlet has continued to publish through mirror sites. It has produced investigative pieces looking into some of Egypt's government institutions, including the intelligence agencies, military and presidency.