International groups condemn Egypt’s trial of Mada Masr editor over unlicensed website

Prosecutors in New Cairo have referred Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of the independent website Mada Masr, to a misdemeanor court on charges of founding and running a site without a licence, a step that legal experts say is unprecedented for the outlet. Attalah was questioned for six hours by the Supreme State Security Prosecution about her attempts to obtain a licence since 2018 and a recent report on prisoner protests, and was informed within 24 hours that she would face trial.

The potential penalties include fines ranging from LE1 million to LE3 million and a possible order to close the website, which could cripple one of Egypt’s few independent media voices. In response, 119 human-rights organisations and media bodies, among them Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, released a statement condemning the “unprecedented attack on press freedom” and calling for the licence to be granted.

US Senator Chris Van Hollen described the series of arrests and prosecutions, including the recent detention of six Matsda2sh journalists, as the most severe crackdown on the Egyptian press in years. Domestic groups such as the Civil Democratic Movement and the Bread and Freedom Party also voiced solidarity and urged the media regulator to process pending licence applications. Attalah is scheduled to appear before the court on Tuesday, October 27.