Egyptian Editor Faces Trial on Website Operation Charge

Lina Attalah, the editor-in-chief of Mada Masr, one of Egypt's remaining independent news organizations, is set to stand trial after being questioned for more than six hours by prosecutors. The Supreme State Prosecution referred Attalah to trial on Thursday, citing the charge of establishing and managing a website without a license. A charge of publishing false news was also considered but not included in the court referral, according to Hassan al-Azhari, Mada Masr's lawyer.

Attalah was released on bail of 100,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately $1,800). If convicted, she faces a potential fine ranging from one to three million Egyptian pounds ($18,000 to $54,000). Al-Azhari described the referral, which occurred hours after the questioning concluded, as "unjustified urgency." Egyptian media law allows for the closure of outlets and confiscation of equipment in such cases. Attalah's court date is scheduled for October 27.

Founded by Attalah in 2013, Mada Masr has gained recognition for its investigative reporting, making it a frequent target of authorities. The website has been blocked within Egypt since 2017. In 2020, Time magazine recognized Attalah as one of its 100 most influential people.

The case file reportedly includes a Mada Masr report from earlier this month detailing protests in several prisons and the security forces' response. These protests followed a parliamentary decision to postpone Egypt's new criminal procedures law by one year.

Mada Masr stated that it has applied for a license multiple times since 2018. The outlet claims the Supreme Media Regulatory Council never responded to these applications and that it learned of the council's rejection from prosecutors in 2022. Mada Masr has challenged this decision in court, and its latest application has been pending since 2023.

This legal action marks the sixth case against Mada Masr and its journalists in six years. The proceedings come shortly after the arrest of the six-person newsroom of Matsadaash, an independent fact-checking and investigative platform, in late September. Those journalists remain in pre-trial detention on charges including joining a terrorist group and spreading false news, which they deny. Their detention was extended for 15 days on October 13.

In solidarity with the detained journalists, Mada Masr and seven other Egyptian and Arab news outlets launched a temporary joint fact-checking newsroom this week.

Egypt is ranked 169th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' 2023 World Press Freedom Index.