A Cairo criminal court on Wednesday adjourned until 18 November the retrial of Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of Mada Masr, after her defence lawyers asked for a new judge.
She faces a possible prison term on a charge of “publishing false news”, and the United Nations has warned of “widening assaults on press freedom” by Egyptian authorities, the BBC reported.
What is Lina Attalah charged with?
Ms Attalah is being retried over a one-year sentence for spreading false news and operating a website without a licence. The sentence was issued in absentia in 2024, even though she was in Egypt at the time, and she learned of it only after a separate trial last month. The same judge who passed that sentence is hearing the retrial, the BBC said.
Mada Masr was set up 13 years ago, however it failed to obtain a license, with coverage of corruption, rights abuses and regional conflicts including Libya, Sudan and Gaza.
What happened in last month’s trial?
Another Cairo court convicted Ms Attalah of running a website without a licence, which she said she had tried for years to obtain. She was fined 3mn Egyptian pounds ($56,000) and Mada Masr was ordered to shut down. Al Jazeera reported the closure order on 27 October, and Human Rights Watch urged Egypt to drop the charges.
Ms Attalah told the BBC the crackdown was meant to send a chilling message to the few newsrooms that remain. She argued that independent reporting could benefit the government, because without it space is left for conspiracies and disinformation.
What happens next?
The retrial resumes on 18 November. The defence’s request for a new judge will need to be addressed when the court sits again, and Mada Masr has said it will appeal against the licensing conviction.
FAQ
Who is Lina Attalah?
She is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Mada Masr, an unlicensed independent Egyptian news website set up 13 years ago.
When is the next hearing?
The retrial was adjourned until 18 November, the BBC reported.
Why was Mada Masr ordered to close?
A Cairo court convicted Ms Attalah last month of operating a website without a licence and ordered it shut. She says she had tried in vain for years to obtain one.
