Mada Masr closed as editor-in-chief Lina Attalah is tried again
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Sowetan
Egyptian independent news site Mada Masr has closed its Giza offices after a court ruling ordering it to cease operations, and is awaiting an appeal. Its editor-in-chief Lina Attalah appears in court this week in another case, while the entire staff of the fact-checking site Matsaddash has been arrested, according to Reuters.
Mada Masr, Egypt’s best-known independent news site, has closed its Giza offices after a court ruling last month, and is awaiting the outcome of an appeal. Its editor-in-chief, Lina Attalah, appears in court this week in a separate case that could send her to prison, Reuters reports.
Founded in 2013, Mada Masr has been blocked in Egypt since 2017 and has already been the subject of investigations and fines. This time, it is "under existential threat", Lina Attalah told Reuters. She says she learned of the closure order while signing the papers for her release, after paying a fine of 3 million Egyptian pounds (about 56,200 dollars). The case rests on the lack of a licence, which the site says it has been seeking since the 2018 media law.
Human rights organisations have condemned the prosecution. The European Union described the preservation and protection of independent media as "essential". On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on the Egyptian authorities to let journalists work without intimidation or reprisals. NGOs link this case to the arrest of the entire staff of the fact-checking site Matsaddash.
The Egyptian authorities did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. They say they are committed to freedom of expression, while demanding that the media respect the law and national security. The Supreme Judicial Council rejected accusations that Lina Attalah’s trial was unfair last month. In September, the United States lifted human rights conditions, including press freedom, on part of its annual military aid to Egypt of about 1.3 billion dollars.
This hearing follows the sentencing of Lina Attalah to 3 million pounds and the closure of Mada Masr, handed down on 27 October. The journalist faces a year in prison in this second case, according to our article of 9 November.
