Egypt court fines journalist Lina Attalah and orders news site’s closure

An Egyptian court convicted journalist Lina Attalah and ordered the closure of her independent news outlet, Mada Masr, for operating an unlicensed website, her lawyers say. The court fined her the maximum possible penalty of 3 million Egyptian pounds ($53,500; £40,100), which she had rejected. Amnesty International condemned the verdict as a severe blow to press freedom, coming just weeks after six journalists were charged with belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt has a history of imprisoning journalists, with 25 currently in jail, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has overseen an unprecedented crackdown on dissent since the military's overthrow of former president Mohammed Morsi in 2013. Mada Masr, founded in 2013, has long faced pressure from authorities due to its critical reporting.

The site had sought an operating license from the Supreme Media Regulatory Council since 2018, but its applications were rejected or left unanswered. Attalah had faced years of harassment and intimidation, including six criminal investigations over Mada Masr's reporting. Last week, prosecutors summoned her for questioning over allegations of publishing "false news" and operating a website without a license.

During the hearing, the judge appointed a lawyer from the Lawyers' Syndicate to represent Attalah, despite her objections. The judge then recorded motions on the lawyer's behalf and announced the fine, leading to her detention. Mada Masr paid the fine and released Attalah after several hours in custody. The same day, the court announced a one-year prison sentence in her absence for charges of publishing false news and managing an unlicensed website. The retrial of the case is scheduled for November 11.