The EGP 3 million (approximately NIS 166,749) fine imposed on Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of independent Egyptian news outlet Mada Masr, and the site’s closure have drawn international condemnation, with officials and human rights organizations warning of Egypt’s continued crackdown on press freedom and free speech.
The New Cairo Misdemeanor Court on Tuesday convicted Attalah of operating an unlicensed website, ordering the closure of Mada Masr and imposing a fine of EGP 3 million, which she paid to secure her release from custody.
The independent news site has been operating as a non-profit and spent eight years attempting to register under the 2018 Law regulating the press, media, and the Supreme Council for media regulation. Both its 2018 and 2020 applications never received a response from the regulatory bodies, and in 2020 it was rejected for reasons that were undisclosed until a court appeal hearing in 2023.
The site was allegedly refused status over missing court documents, though a new application submitted in 2026 with the documents also never received a response.
Authorities summon Attallah on charges of 'spreading false news'
Attallah has faced six criminal investigations over the past six years over Mada Masr’s reporting, most recently in 2025, when she was summoned on charges of “spreading false news” and “operating a website without a license” over an article about conditions in Badr 3 prison.
At least 18 journalists are currently imprisoned in Egypt according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and hundreds of websites have been blocked.
Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Regional Impact, Yasmine Ahmed, said the court’s decision was a “crushing blow to press freedom in Egypt and marks a dark day for independent journalism in the country. By imposing a 3 million EGP fine, ordering the closure of Mada Masr and the seizure of its property, and detaining Lina Atallah until payment is made, the Egyptian authorities are sending a clear and ruthless message: critical, independent reporting will not be tolerated.
“This draconian ruling is the culmination of years of relentless harassment and unjust proceedings designed to shut down one of the country’s last remaining independent media voices. Lina Atallah should never have been prosecuted for exercising her right to freedom of expression and doing her journalistic job. The Egyptian authorities must immediately overturn this outrageous verdict, halt the forced closure of Mada Masr, and end the systematic persecution of journalists."
Ahmed also criticized the legal proceedings, claiming the judge refused to give the defense adequate time to prepare and had rejected all requests by the defense to summon witnesses or provide additional documentation.
Sharing similar concerns, Mada Masr reported on X, citing legal counsel, that Judge Mohamed Mubarak ordered the courtroom cleared of everyone except Attalah and her defense counsel, Hossam Bahgat, executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. The judge then filled the courtroom with plainclothes officers and guards, with a National Security Agency officer also in attendance.
According to the outlet, Mubarak announced that the court would reject all procedural arguments raised by the defense, including requests to introduce documents and call witnesses.
When the defense insisted it would not submit a plea until the court addressed its requests, the judge “abruptly” ordered an unknown lawyer to be brought into the courtroom, Mada Masr reported. Bahgat said the move “astonished all those present,” adding that the judge announced the court had decided to appoint a lawyer to represent Attalah.
Although Attalah and her defense team rejected the court-appointed lawyer, Bahgat said the judge began recording the lawyer’s requests despite him not having spoken before proceeding to read out the harsh verdict, prompting protests from the defense.
'A devastating blow to independent media'
Leopoldo Maldonado Gutiérrez, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, said that the confiscation of the website’s equipment and the fine were “a devastating blow to independent media.”
Though condemned by American representatives like Don Beyer as “a brazen attack on press freedom and an attempt to silence one of the last major independent voices in Egypt,” prominent Egyptian media figures have come out in support of the court’s decision.
Egyptian journalist Mohamed El-Diasty responded angrily to the media statement that bringing a “brigade of lawyers” would anger the courts, causing harsher sentencing, and accused the site of “interference in the affairs of the Egyptian judiciary and the use of social media to incite against justice in Egypt on behalf of an unlicensed, foreign-funded website.”
This is the second case involving digital communications to emerge in Egypt’s justice system this month. According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, six young Christians were arrested for posting a TikTok video recreating a comedy scene from an Egyptian film in which a group of prisoners prepares to pray, but none know the Quranic verses required to perform the prayer.
The six friends, one a minor, were reportedly questioned and detained by the Supreme State Security Prosecution on October 10, and had their detention extended by a judge for 15 days on October 11. Though the faith-based, conservative Christian legal advocacy organization Alliance Defending Freedom International reported that they have now been released, they are still expected to face criminal charges for the video.