Egyptian authorities referred Mada Masr editor-in-chief Lina Attalah to trial on charges of operating an unlicensed website and publishing false news, setting her first court appearance for Tuesday, October 27.
The referral is a new legal escalation against one of Egypt’s last remaining independent media outlets, according to a joint statement by 119 civil society organizations and media bodies published by the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP).
The summons arrived on October 19, just hours after Mada Masr joined seven other regional independent outlets in launching a solidarity flash newsroom. That joint initiative aimed to cover a news gap created by the arrest of the entire newsroom of the Egyptian investigative platform Matsadaash.
During a six-hour interrogation on October 21 before the Supreme State Security Prosecution under Case No. 9072 of 2026, Attalah faced questioning regarding Mada Masr’s coverage of prison protests nationwide. Prosecutors also examined the operational status of the outlet’s press credentials.
Authorities released her on LE 100,000 bail following the session. On October 22, she received notice of her referral to trial on allegations of establishing and managing a website without authorization.
Mada Masr previously sought compliance under Law No. 180 of 2018 Regulating the Press, Media, and the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR). The outlet submitted licensing applications in 2018 following the statute’s ratification and again in 2020 after bylaws were issued, receiving no official response on either occasion.
The publication only discovered that the SCMR had rejected its 2018 application during a 2022 interrogation involving Attalah, when authorities provided no prior notice or justification. Mada Masr subsequently filed a lawsuit in 2022 to challenge the unnotified denial, while a newer licensing application has remained pending without official reply since 2023.
While Mada Masr has faced six separate legal cases over the past six years, this is the first time authorities have referred such a case to trial. If convicted, Attalah faces potential fines ranging between LE 1 million and 3 million, with provisions to double penalties for repeat offenses.
The court also holds the power to order the permanent closure of Mada Masr. Such a ruling would effectively dismantle one of the final independent news organizations operating inside Egypt.
The prosecution coincides with a broader crackdown that saw the detention of six Matsadaash journalists, several of whom reportedly endured torture while held in pretrial detention. Coalition signatories have urged Egyptian authorities to drop the charges against Attalah, grant Mada Masr its legal operating license, and release all journalists currently imprisoned for their reporting.
“Should we remain silent in the face of such, we can only expect the permanent shuttering and closure of what remains of Egyptian independent media, civil society, and organizing,” the organizations said in their appeal.
