Washington, D.C., September 11, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to immediately disclose the whereabouts of prominent Sudanese journalist
Ataf Mohamed Mokhtar
and the reasons for his
arrest
.
Ataf was arrested Tuesday, September 8, 2026, from his home in Cairo, with no official announcement from Egyptian authorities on the legal basis for his detention or his whereabouts, according to a Facebook post from ِِِِ
Al-Sadiq Al-Rizaigt
, the head of the General Union of Sudanese Journalists, and
several media outlets
. Al-Rizaigi
said
the arrest relates to Ataf’s journalistic work and the views he has expressed on issues concerning Sudan and the country’s war.
“Egyptian authorities must immediately disclose Ataf Mohamed Mohktar’s whereabouts, the legal basis for his detention, and ensure he has access to his family and lawyer. Holding a journalist incommunicado, seemingly because of his reporting or views, is an unacceptable assault on press freedom,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Sudanese journalists who fled the war should not have to fear arrests or retaliation in Egypt simply for doing their jobs.”
Ataf
is a well-known Sudanese journalist, editor-in-chief of the independent outlet Al-Sudani, with more than 125,000 followers on X. He regularly appears as a political commentator on several outlets, including the
Saudi-owned Al Hadath channel
.
One of Ataf’s most recent
posts
on X commented on a
UN experts report on Sudan
that
found
links between the United Arab Emirates and the war, which the UAE has
consistently denied
.
Several
outlets
reported
that official complaints by the UAE may be the reason behind his arrest, a claim CPJ could not independently verify.
Egyptian security forces have
systematically
used
enforced disappearance
— or detention followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person’s fate or whereabouts — to target
journalists
, who are often
mistreated
prior to being pres
… [more]
