Global outcry as Egypt prosecutes Mada Masr’s Lina Attalah
Egyptian prosecutors referred Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of independent news outlet Mada Masr, to trial on charges of establishing and managing an unlicensed website, triggering global condemnation from 119 rights organizations and independent media institutions demanding an immediate halt to her legal harassment.
The Supreme State Security Prosecution on Thursday referred Attalah to the New Cairo Misdemeanor Court, setting next Tuesday for the opening trial session, following hours of interrogation that culminated in her release on 100,000 Egyptian pounds (about $1,800) bail in Case No. 9072 of 2026 (State Security).
In an international appeal released on Friday, the signatory organizations—including Al Manassa—condemned the prosecution as a severe escalation targeting independent journalism, knowledge production, and civil society across Egypt.
The groups warned that the charges carry potential fines between 1–3 million pounds (between $18,000–$54,000) and could lead to a judicial shutdown order, describing the move as a “death knell to one of the last remaining independent media outlets operating in Egypt today.”
The groups linked Attalah’s prosecution to another historic crackdown late last month, when authorities arrested six journalists comprising the entire editorial team of independent fact-checking platform Matsadaash, holding them in pre-trial detention on allegations of “spreading false news” and “joining a terrorist group.”
The international appeal tied the legal offensive directly to Mada Masr joining seven other independent Arab news organizations on Oct. 19 to establish a collaborative newsroom.
The initiative aims to fill the reporting vacuum created by the imprisonment of the Matsadaash team and carry out fact-checking on “Egypt Forum 2026,” an ongoing government event designed to “showcase state achievements.”
Alongside Mada Masr, the regional coalition unites Egyptian platforms Saheeh Masr and Al Manassa, Lebanese outlets Megaphone, Daraj, and Sifr, Tunisian platform Nawaat, and Syrian newsroom Al-Jumhuriya.
During a six-hour interrogation session before the Supreme State Security Prosecution on Wednesday, prosecutors questioned Attalah extensively about Mada Masr’s reporting on a wave of prison protests, as well as the website’s licensing situation.
The rights appeal outlined that Mada Masr had made every possible effort to obtain legal accreditation under Egyptian law, initially submitting an official registration request in 2018 following the enactment of the Press and Media Regulation Law No. 180 of 2018, which went unanswered.
Following the release of the law’s executive regulations in 2020, the outlet submitted another application, which authorities also ignored.
According to the appeal, Mada Masr learned only during a 2022 investigative summons of Attalah that the Supreme Council for Media Regulation had rejected its application without formally notifying the outlet or providing legal justifications.
While the outlet mounted a legal challenge against the rejection and the council’s failure to provide notice or grounds, an additional licensing request submitted in 2023 remains unanswered.
The 119 signatory groups emphasized that the court referral marks the first criminal indictment among six legal cases brought against Mada Masr over the past six years, warning that the trial threatens the platform’s survival and shrinks what little space remains for independent journalism in the country.
The coalition stated that Egyptian authorities have for years deployed repressive and restrictive measures against independent outlets to intimidate journalists, stifle operations, and paralyze free expression, adding that the latest escalation reflects a clear intent to dismantle the independent media sphere entirely.
Demanding an immediate end to all harassment against Mada Masr and every independent media organization working in Egypt, the signatories called for the unconditional release of all journalists detained or imprisoned in connection with their reporting.
The coalition of signatories brings together global and regional bodies including Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, the Lebanese Syndicate of Journalists, the Aigis Safety Alliance, the American Committee for Middle East Rights, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, the African Middle Eastern Leadership Project, the El Nadeem Center, and ARTICLE 19.
Egypt ranks 169th out of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index. In March 2024, the Egyptian Syndicate of Journalists condemned the ongoing digital blocking of news sites, foremost among them Mada Masr and Al Manassa—the latter having suffered 13 separate blocks, most recently in July 2022—even as authorities unblocked other platforms such as Darb, Al-Solta Al-Rabaa, Zat Masr, and Masr 360.