Lina Attalah, the editor-in-chief of Mada Masr, one of Egypt’s final independent news outlets, is set to stand trial following a session of questioning that lasted more than six hours. The Supreme State Prosecution officially referred Attalah to trial on Thursday on a charge of establishing and managing a website without a license. According to her lawyer, Hassan al-Azhari, Attalah was also interrogated regarding an allegation of publishing false news, though that specific charge was not included in the court referral.
Attalah was released on Wednesday evening after posting bail of 100,000 Egyptian pounds, or approximately $1,800. If convicted, she faces a potential fine ranging from one to three million Egyptian pounds, which equates to between $18,000 and $54,000. Under current Egyptian media law, the court also maintains the authority to order the permanent closure of the news outlet and the confiscation of its equipment. Al-Azhari characterized the speed of the referral, which occurred just hours after the interrogation concluded, as an act of “unjustified urgency.” Attalah is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 27.
Since founding Mada Masr in 2013, Attalah has led the outlet through frequent scrutiny from authorities, largely due to its investigative reporting. The website has been blocked within Egypt since 2017, and in 2020, Time magazine recognized Attalah as one of its 100 most influential people. Al-Azhari noted that the case file includes a report published by Mada Masr earlier this month, which detailed a wave of protests at several prisons and a subsequent harsh security response. Those protests followed a decision by parliament to delay the implementation of Egypt’s new criminal procedures law by one year.
This legal action marks the sixth case brought against Mada Masr and its journalists over the past six years. The development follows the arrest of the entire six-person newsroom of Matsadaash, an independent investigative and fact-checking platform, during raids conducted on Sept. 28 and 29. Those journalists remain in pre-trial detention on charges including joining a terrorist group and spreading false news, both of which they deny. Their detention was renewed for 15 days on Oct. 13. In response to these events, Mada Masr and seven other Arab and Egyptian outlets have launched a temporary joint fact-checking newsroom in solidarity. Egypt currently ranks 169th out of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders.
