An Egyptian court ordered the closure of one of Egypt’s last independent news outlets Tuesday after convicting its editor-in-chief of operating a website without a license, reports the AP, in a major blow to the country’s shrinking press freedom. The publication, Mada Masr, said its editor-in-chief and founder, Lina Attalah, was released after paying a fine equivalent to about $53,400. She had been detained for seven hours after the verdict, with her whereabouts unknown during that time, according to the outlet.
Mada Masr is one of the few remaining news outlets in Egypt known for investigating corruption, the expanding role of the country’s powerful military, and human rights violations. Ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, Human Rights Watch called the prosecution of Attalah an escalation of an “outrageous attack on independent media.” Attalah’s lead lawyer, Hassan el-Azhary, said Mada Masr planned to appeal. By imposing a large fine, ordering the closure of Mada Masr and the seizure of its property, while “detaining Lina Attalah until payment is made, the Egyptian authorities are sending a clear and ruthless message: critical, independent reporting will not be tolerated,” Amnesty International said in a statement.
While completing her release paperwork, Attalah’s defense team learned that the 44-year-old journalist had been sentenced in absentia in 2024 to one year in prison on charges of spreading false news and operating an unlicensed website—a conviction she intends to appeal. An appeal hearing is set for Nov. 11. During Tuesday’s session at a Cairo misdemeanor court—the first in a trial announced last week—the judge rejected all of the defense’s procedural requests and ordered its lawyers to immediately give closing arguments. Khaled Elbalshy, head of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, said that the press union is supporting Attalah’s case, calling it “a wake-up call” that “runs counter to the demands” for removing press restrictions.