And Court fines Lina Attalah LE3 million, orders Mada Masr closure

In a huge blow to the Egyptian press and freedom of expression, Mada Masr Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah was released on Tuesday after spending nearly seven hours in custody following her conviction by the New Cairo Misdemeanor Court for managing an unlicensed website.

The court imposed a LE3 million fine — I believe the highest fine in a publishing- or media-related case in Egypt — and ordered the closure of Mada Masr’s website and the confiscation of its equipment and devices.

Mada Masr paid the fine in full, but Attalah’s release procedures took several hours to complete.

During the release procedures, Attalah learned that she had been sentenced in absentia to one year in prison in 2024 on charges of publishing false news and managing an unlicensed website.

Her lawyers took steps to challenge the ruling, with a retrial scheduled for November 11.

It is a sad day for the press and freedom of expression, not only in Egypt but across the Global South.

This is an alarming setback for the media. The Egyptian Journalists Syndicate has said it is closely following the case and stands in support of Lina Attalah and Mada Masr.

Honestly, this is not just an alarming setback for the media but for everything, given what Attalah’s defence team said happened in court.

Tuesday’s verdict followed a hearing before the New Cairo Misdemeanor Court’s ninth circuit, presided over by Judge Mohamed Mubarak.

Proceedings were temporarily suspended for deliberations after Attalah’s defence team requested time to review the case file.

Upon resuming the session, the judge ordered the courtroom cleared of everyone except Attalah and her defence counsel, according to Hossam Bahgat, executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), who was present.

The courtroom was subsequently filled with plainclothes officers and security personnel, including an officer from the National Security Agency, Bahgat told Mada Masr.

The court rejected the defence team’s requests to review the case file, submit additional evidence and call further witnesses.

When asked to present its plea, the defence team refused, insisting that the court first respond to its outstanding requests.

The judge then called in a lawyer unknown to the defence team and announced that the court would appoint him to represent Attalah, Bahgat said. The move prompted objections from the defence, which had eight lawyers present.

Attalah also personally rejected the court-appointed lawyer, saying she did not accept him acting on her behalf. The judge refused to have her objection recorded in the session’s minutes, according to Bahgat.

In another disputed move, Bahgat said the judge began recording requests on behalf of the court-appointed lawyer before the lawyer had spoken. The judge subsequently read out the verdict amid protests from the defence team.

The court imposed the maximum penalty for managing an unlicensed website: a LE3 million fine, alongside orders to close Mada Masr’s website and confiscate its equipment and devices.

Security personnel then surrounded Attalah, lifted her off the ground and removed her from the courtroom. She remained in custody inside the courthouse until her release several hours later.

I have so many things to say. I am not a lawyer, but I know that what happened during this hearing was unprecedented. I sincerely hope it never happens again.

I have so many things to say, but I am angry, sad, tired and exhausted.