Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah faces prison as trial sparks international outcry
Summary
Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah is due to face a criminal court retrial over allegations that Mada Masr operated without a licence and published false news. The UN and press-freedom groups have criticised the case amid a wider crackdown on independent media in Egypt.Key Facts
- Attalah heads Mada Masr, an independent Egyptian news outlet.
- A court sentenced Attalah to one year in prison in absentia in 2024 over the charges.
- Attalah says she learned of that sentence last month after her release in a separate case.
- In the separate case, a court fined her three million Egyptian pounds, reported as about $56,000, and ordered Mada Masr shut down.
- Attalah said Mada Masr had submitted licensing applications repeatedly over eight years without receiving answers.
- The UN criticised what it called widening assaults on press freedom in Egypt and raised concerns about due process in Attalah’s prosecution.
- The article reports that six journalists from the fact-checking platform Matsadaash remain in pretrial detention after their newsroom was arrested in September.
- The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Egyptian authorities to end the crackdown and reverse Mada Masr’s shutdown.
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