Egypt: Interior Ministry denies torture claims of detained journalists

Egypt on Tuesday rejected accusations that detained journalists from an independent fact-checking platform were tortured or mistreated, referring to the allegations as "baseless".

In a statement, the Interior Ministry described the accusations as "an attempt by those concerned to evade the charges attributed to them".

It comes after after lawyers representing the six journalists arrested last week, said they had reported abuse during their time in detention.

According to the lawyers, most of the journalists said they had suffered different forms of torture including beatings, forced stripping and threats against them and their families.

The journalists work for Matsadaash, a fact-checking platform, which often scrutinises statements from government officials and state institutions. Dozens of organisations, including Human Rights Watch, and Reporters Without Borders, have denounced the arrests and urged the journalists' immediate release.

It's not the first time Egypt has been at the centre of such criticism -- the country has long faced backlash from press freedom groups over restrictions on media activity.