Lina Attalah trial in Egypt postponed to 18 November
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Africanews
An Egyptian court has postponed the retrial of Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of Mada Masr, until 18 November. She is being prosecuted for operating an unlicensed news site and publishing false news. Her defence is seeking the judge’s removal, as he had already sentenced her in absentia to one year in prison in 2024 and ordered the media outlet’s closure, according to Africa News.
The trial of Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of Mada Masr, is due to resume on 18 November after her defence sought to have the judge handling the case removed. The journalist’s lawyer says the judge may already have formed an opinion on the case, Africanews reports.
Lina Attalah is being prosecuted for operating a news site without a licence and publishing false information. She was sentenced in absentia to one year in prison in 2024, without having been informed of the proceedings, according to Africanews.
The proceedings come as the same judge sentenced Lina Attalah last month to a fine of three million Egyptian pounds and ordered the closure of Mada Masr in another case. Reporters Without Borders criticised the prosecutions, while the Committee to Protect Journalists called on the authorities to reverse the media outlet’s closure, Africanews reports.
Lina Attalah says that repeated licence applications submitted by Mada Masr have gone unanswered for years and that the regulations are being used as a means of control, according to Africanews. The proceedings follow the new ruling against Lina Attalah of Mada Masr, reported on 11 November.
