Cairo, Egypt
Egyptian authorities on Thursday referred journalist Lina Attalah, head of the country’s leading independent media outlet Mada Masr, to trial on charges of operating a website without a license, Mada Masr said.
Her trial comes weeks after Egypt’s high-profile arrest of the entire team of a factchecking platform, on charges of fake news, which are frequently levelled against media seen to be critical of the government.
“This unprecedented prosecution of Egypt’s preeminent independent news organisation, following the abduction and detention of an entire factchecking newsroom, can only mean that Egypt’s security agencies are moving from years of harassing independent media to wiping them out completely,” Hossam Bahgat, head of prominent rights group the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), told AFP.
Attalah was questioned by state security prosecutors for six hours on Wednesday, her lawyer Mokhtar Mounir said, partly about her outlet’s lack of a license, an application for which Mada says has been pending a response since 2023.
She was also questioned about a Mada report concerning protest actions in prisons, before being released on bail.
Her first session will be October 27, her legal team said.
This is the sixth case brought against Attalah and Mada Masr in as many years, including for broadcasting fake news.
Egypt, which has long faced criticism over its crackdown on press freedoms, is currently holding 26 journalists in connection with their work, according to an EIPR tally.
Earlier this month, six journalists from fact-checking platform Matsadaash were charged with terrorism offences, after being arrested in a series of raids in September.
EIPR, which represents the journalists, said they had reported torture following their arrests, allegations denied by the Interior Ministry.
Authorities accused them of links to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and spreading “rumours and false news” to undermine confidence in state institutions and incite people to protest.
They are currently being held on pretrial detention, which rights groups say can be extended for months or years before detainees are released or face trial.
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