Court orders Egyptian website closed in case seen as test for independent media
The court imposed the maximum penalty after finding the outlet guilty of operating without a licence, and rights groups called it a blow to press freedom.
- On Tuesday, the New Cairo Misdemeanor Court convicted Mada Masr editor-in-chief Lina Attalah of operating an unlicensed website, imposing a 3 million EGP fine and ordering the outlet to shut down. Attalah was taken into custody pending payment.
- Mada Masr has repeatedly attempted to obtain an official license from the Supreme Council for Media Regulation since 2018, but authorities have consistently denied or ignored applications. The outlet has faced six criminal investigations over six years.
- Defense lawyers reported the court denied requests to submit documents or summon witnesses, with journalists excluded from critical proceedings. A group of 119 rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Committee to Protect Journalists, called the case an "unprecedented attack on press freedom."
- Amnesty International's Yasmine Ahmed, Senior Director for Regional Impact, called the verdict a "crushing blow to press freedom." U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen stated the charges were baseless, saying "journalism is not a crime." Authorities maintain media must operate within the law.
- The conviction coincides with last month's arrest of the entire Matsadaash newsroom and follows a broader crackdown on independent journalism. With at least 18 journalists currently imprisoned in Egypt, the ruling marks a significant escalation against the country's remaining independent media voices.
143 Articles
143 Articles
Thirteen Years of Harassment, and Three Minutes to Close Mada Masr
The court-ordered closure of Mada Masr, after years of legal and security harassment, and the continued detention of six Matsda2sh journalists signal an intensifying crackdown on independent media. It comes as President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who is preparing for a post-2030 political transition, warns about threats to national consciousness.
The Egyptian regime once again takes it to the independent press, this time by closing the site "Mada Masr" and wanting to send its founder to prison. Its fate worries all independent Arab media. Interview with Samer Frangié, editor-in-chief of the Lebanese media "Megaphone".
The court found Lina Attalla guilty of operating an unlicensed website, but the editorial says she applied for a license three years ago.
The condemnation to director Lina Attalah, then the closure of the site. For the Egyptian activist: "They tried in every way to intimidate journalists, I don't know how they survived in recent years. And then they arrested the entire newsroom of Matsaddash, tortured them with electroshock, accusing them of ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. The farewell of al-Sisi in 2030? He said it explicitly for the ever more serious splits within the regime"
The European Union (EU) on Thursday urged Egypt to protect independent media outlets.
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