Maximum Penalty Handed Down in New Cairo Courtroom
The New Cairo Misdemeanor Court has convicted Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of the independent Egyptian news outlet Mada Masr, handing down the maximum penalty under the court’s ruling.
The judge ordered a fine of 3 million Egyptian pounds, roughly equal to US$54,000. Alongside the financial penalty came the complete closure of the newsroom’s website and the confiscation of all its technical equipment and devices. Attalah was taken into custody inside the courtroom immediately following the verdict before being released seven hours later, the Middle East Research and Information Project reported.
Attalah Discovers Unknown in Absentia Conviction
During her release processing, Attalah discovered a previously unknown in absentia conviction issued against her in 2024. That earlier ruling carried a one-year prison sentence on charges of operating an unlicensed website and spreading false news. Her defense counsel has already filed a formal objection to that judgment, and the court scheduled a review hearing for November 11.
The trial involved several procedural violations, according to courtroom accounts. Security officials excluded journalists from critical phases of the trial, while the defense team was denied adequate time to examine the case file or present essential procedural motions, including requests to introduce documentary evidence and call witnesses.
Despite the presence of Attalah’s eight-member legal team and her direct objections, the court appointed a separate lawyer to represent her before delivering the verdict.
Prosecution Follows Collaborative Newsroom Solidarity Efforts
The prosecution and subsequent referral followed Mada Masr’s participation in a solidarity flash newsroom alongside several regional and domestic outlets. That collaborative effort was established to bridge coverage gaps left by the arrest of six journalists from the investigative platform Matsadaash in late September.
Those initial arrests marked the beginning of an escalating campaign against independent Egyptian media, which has since expanded to include the summoning of journalist Rasha Azab and coordinated defamation efforts targeting the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate. Mada Masr’s legal representatives intend to appeal the recent misdemeanor ruling and pursue all available judicial remedies to overturn the conviction and shutdown order.
Mada Masr Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah was fined LE3 million by the New Cairo Misdemeanor Court, which convicted her on charges of managing an unlicensed website, issuing an order for the website’s closure. Attalah was taken into custody after the issue of the ruling. Tuesday’s… pic.twitter.com/8pfj1RTghc
Broad Coalition Demands Immediate Release of Reporters
The Middle East Research and Information Project joined 129 other organizations in signing a joint statement condemning the conviction and the broader state actions targeting the independent outlet.
The coalition has called upon Egyptian authorities to drop the campaign of intimidation against journalists, immediately release the 25 reporters currently held in state custody, and issue media licenses to independent outlets without discrimination.
By Omar El Sayed – World Editor
More on Mada Masr
Mada Masr Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah was released following several hours in custody after the New Cairo Misdemeanor Court convicted her on the charge of managing a website without a license during the first hearing in the session this morning. The court imposed the maximum… pic.twitter.com/qCoSgjbyC6
🇪🇬 Lina Attalah, editor of independent Egyptian outlet Mada Masr, has been taken into custody after a Cairo court convicted her of running an unlicensed website and ordered it shut, her lawyers say. She's held until she pays a 3m Egyptian pound fine. #Egypt via BBC News pic.twitter.com/4USYJlkjy6
