Lina Attalah fined 3 million pounds, Mada Masr closed
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Cpj
Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of Mada Masr, was fined 3 million Egyptian pounds and detained. The New Cairo court also ordered the independent outlet’s closure and the confiscation of its equipment, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The New Cairo Misdemeanour Court sentenced Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of the independent Egyptian media outlet Mada Masr, to a fine of 3 million Egyptian pounds, about $54,000, and ordered the outlet’s closure and the confiscation of its equipment, Mada Masr reports. Attalah was detained and will remain so until the fine is paid, two Egyptian lawyers told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The conviction concerns the alleged operation of an unlicensed website. According to reports from the hearing, journalists were unable to attend some stages of the proceedings and the defence was not allowed to submit requests, including requests to produce documents and hear witnesses. Lobna Darwish, advocacy director at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, told the CPJ that the trial had not, in her view, respected the essential rules of a fair trial.
The CPJ condemned the verdict and called on the Egyptian authorities to release Attalah and allow Mada Masr to resume its activities. Its regional director, Sara Qudah, described the decision as a blow to press freedom. The outlet had repeatedly sought an operating licence from the Egyptian authorities.
The conviction follows proceedings brought against Lina Attalah over the operation of the Mada Masr website, reported on 27 October. It comes amid growing pressure on independent media in Egypt, reported on 23 October.
