UN alarms on Egypt press crackdown - silent on far worse

The UN human rights office condemned Egypt this week for arresting the entire Matsaddash fact-checking newsroom (six journalists) on terrorism charges and ordering the closure of independent site Mada Masr. 

Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan called for their immediate release and an end to intimidation of journalists.

Egypt’s record is poor - 169th in the 2026 RSF Press Freedom Index and a regular top jailer of journalists. The cases raise legitimate concerns, including torture allegations.

Yet the same RSF Index shows far graver collapses elsewhere. China ranks 178th and remains the world’s largest prison for journalists (over 100 detained). Russia (172nd), Iran, North Korea, Eritrea, Cuba and Venezuela sit at the bottom, with independent media largely eliminated.

UN Watch’s review of High Commissioner Volker Türk’s first two years found he condemned the United States more than China, North Korea, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Qatar combined. 

He was largely silent on the worst regimes and issued only a handful of mild statements on China - none mentioning the mass detention of over a million Uyghurs that the UN itself assessed as possible crimes against humanity. Israel drew dozens of statements; Venezuela a handful.

Egypt is an easy public target. China, Russia and North Korea are not. The result is selective pressure where political cost is low and comparative restraint where violations are most total. That pattern is structural, not accidental.