An Egyptian journalist was released after her arrest Saturday in Luxor, southern Egypt, where she was investigating after recent protests against the government, the prosecution said on Tuesday.
"
The public prosecutor ordered the release of Basma Mostafa after his interrogation, as well as the continuation of the investigation,
" the public prosecutor said in a brief statement.
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The journalist was initially accused of having "
used her personal account on a social network to publish false news likely to disrupt public security
", but it was then "
turned out that the account was not active
" according to the text. .
Basma Mostafa was brought to the prosecution on Sunday after she disappeared while reporting near Luxor.
The journalist was interested in the death of a man who was allegedly killed by police during protests in the region in September, according to Al Manassa, the independent online newspaper for which she works.
The authorities did not report a victim at these rallies but the prosecution said Tuesday it was investigating the murder of a man in Luxor.
"
The public prosecutor was notified of the death of this man while he tried to resist the police forces during a raid on his home and his family,
" said the prosecution, adding that the police had a warrant of arrest targeting members of his family.
Dozens of Egyptians participated in these small-scale protests, according to videos shared on social media, in particular by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization classified as a "
terrorist organization
" in Egypt.b Images of videos showing many protesters were not authentic according to the AFP Fact-checking cell responsible for verifying information circulating on social networks.
These rallies took place against a backdrop of anger, especially in rural areas, against economic reforms carried out by the government since 2016 and a campaign to stop illegal construction.
Protests have been banned in Egypt since 2013.
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On Monday, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) saw Ms. Mostafa's arrest as "
clear retaliation for covering news that the Egyptian government wants suppressed
."
The Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) denounced a "
scandalous
"
arrest
, accusing the international community of being "
blind to serious violations of press freedom and human rights in Egypt
".
According to the two NGOs, Basma Mostafa is married to Karim Abdelrady, presented by the IPI as "
human rights lawyer representing several detained journalists and human rights defenders in Egypt
".
The power of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has jailed thousands of Islamists as part of a crackdown on dissent, which also targets liberal and secular activists, bloggers, artists and journalists.