Egypt's Supreme State Security Prosecution has referred journalist Lina Attalah to trial on a website licensing allegation, a case that could bring a fine of up to 3 million Egyptian pounds, Mada Masr said.
Mada Masr said questioning in New Cairo on Wednesday lasted six hours. The referral concerns an allegation that Attalah managed a website without a license. The outlet said a separate accusation that she published false news to disturb public peace was left out of the trial referral.
Mada Masr said it has sought government approval to operate its Arabic- and English-language news site since 2018, when Egypt enacted and ratified a law regulating the press. The outlet said authorities had not responded for years before it learned in 2022 that its application had been rejected. Mada Masr filed a lawsuit that year and learned in 2023 that the rejection cited missing documents.
Mada Masr's legal counsel Hassan al-Azhari said a conviction could expose Attalah to a fine of 1 million to 3 million Egyptian pounds ($18,000 to $54,000). He described the timetable as “unjustified urgency.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was alarmed by the referral. Sara Qudah, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa director, said Egypt was “weaponizing its media law to punish independent journalism.” Qudah linked the case to September's arrests of six journalists at Matsadaash, an Egyptian fact-checking and investigative site.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also said it was alarmed by prosecutors' earlier questioning of Attalah. RSF's World Press Freedom Index ranks Egypt 169th among 180 countries. The group said many of Egypt's biggest media outlets are state-owned or controlled by wealthy business figures who follow the government's line.
DW reported that Attalah previously served as managing editor of the online newspaper Egypt Independent. Mada Masr, which frequently publishes reporting critical of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's government, said the trial is due to begin Tuesday, Oct. 27, at a New Cairo misdemeanors court.
