Egypt court orders closure of Mada Masr, convicts editor Lina Attalah

An Egyptian court on Tuesday ordered the closure of independent news website Mada Masr and convicted its editor-in-chief, Lina Attalah, of operating without a licence, in what a coalition of 119 rights organisations and media outlets — including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists — described as an unprecedented attack on press freedom.

The court imposed a fine of 3 million Egyptian pounds — around $53,400 (€48,112) — the maximum penalty for the offence, and ordered the website's equipment confiscated. Attalah was detained for several hours after the verdict before being released once Mada Masr paid the fine.

Hossam Bahgat, head of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, who attended the hearing, told AFP the judge appointed a new lawyer to represent Attalah over the objections of her eight-person defence team, then dictated motions on that lawyer's behalf into the official record without the lawyer uttering a word.

Attalah also learned during her release that she had been sentenced in absentia in a separate 2024 case to one year in prison and a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds on charges of spreading false news. A hearing in that case is scheduled for 11 November.

Founded in 2013, Mada Masr is one of Egypt's few remaining independent outlets. Egyptian authorities have blocked access to the site inside the country since 2017. The outlet says it first applied for a licence in 2018 but received no response, and that its latest application has been awaiting a response since 2023. Six cases have been brought against Mada Masr and its journalists over the past six years.

The outlet plans to appeal the closure order.