Egypt releases prominent journalist Lina Attalah from custody
Lina Attalah war released from custody on Tuesday, hours after she was detained and after a court ordered the closure of her website Mada Masr. A court had earlier fined Attalah three million Egyptian pounds (around $53,400) for operating the outlet without a license.
Egyptian authorities released independent journalist Lina Attalah from custody on Tuesday, only hours after her detention. Her release followed the payment of a three million Egyptian pound fine, which is approximately $53,400, for operating her website, Mada Masr, without a license. A court also ordered the closure of the website.
According to her lawyer, Hassan al-Azhari, the defense team discovered Attalah had been sentenced in absentia to one year in prison and a 20,000 Egyptian pound fine. The defense team has appealed that sentence, and a new court hearing is scheduled for November 11. Mada Masr reports it has not received a response from authorities regarding its license application since 2023.
Amnesty International described the verdict against Attalah and Mada Masr as a crushing blow to press freedom. The Committee to Protect Journalists has ranked Egypt, following the closure of Mada Masr, among the world's top jailers of journalists.
Brief written by urgent.news from Le Monde English, New Straits Times, BBC News, BBC World, Al-Monitor — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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