Retrial of Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah adjourned amid criticism of media crackdown

An Egyptian court on Wednesday adjourned the retrial of Mada Masr editor-in-chief Lina Attalah until 18 November to consider a defence request for the judge’s removal, the independent news outlet said. Attalah faces charges of publishing false news and operating a website without a licence in a case in which she was sentenced to a year in prison in her absence in 2024. Mada Masr’s lawyer, Hassan al-Azhari, said the defence would submit its grounds for seeking the judge’s removal ahead of the next hearing, arguing that he had “already formed a view against the defendant”. The presiding judge, Mohamed Mubarak, also issued a ruling on 27 October in a separate case fining Attalah three million Egyptian pounds (about $56,000) and ordering Mada Masr’s closure. The proceedings come amid a wider crackdown on independent media, including the detention in September of all six journalists working for fact-checking outlet Matsadaash. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Mada Masr said Attalah received a summons in the latest licensing case on 19 October, hours after it joined seven other independent Arab media outlets in a joint newsroom initiative intended to fill the gap left by the Matsadaash arrests. In its statement on Wednesday, Mada Masr said the case being heard dates back to questioning by the Cairo Appeals Prosecution in November 2023, following a complaint by the Supreme Council for Media Regulation. The complaint concerned a report published after the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023. Prosecutors questioned Attalah again in February 2024 after Mada Masr published another report on Sinai businessman Ibrahim al-Organi’s role in coordinating the movement of people and goods through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, the outlet said. Attalah only learned of the prison sentence issued against her in her absence while completing release procedures on 27 October, following the fine and closure ruling in the separate licensing case. Her appeal against that ruling is scheduled to be heard on 25 November, Mada Masr said. Closure order The October verdict was issued at the first hearing in the separate case, in which Attalah was accused of managing an unlicensed website. Alongside the fine and closure order, the court ordered the confiscation of the outlet’s equipment. Attalah was detained following the ruling and released after the fine was paid. Mada Masr said the court rejected its lawyers’ requests for time to examine the case file, submit documents and call witnesses. 'The new Democratic majority in Congress must reassess why we are sending this authoritarian government $1.5 billion in US tax dollars annually' - Rashida Tlaib, US Congresswoman According to the outlet’s account, the judge appointed another lawyer to represent Attalah despite objections from her and the eight lawyers already present to defend her. The court then delivered its verdict without allowing her chosen lawyers to present their arguments on the substance of the charges. Egypt’s Supreme Judicial Council has rejected allegations that the proceedings were unfair. Founded in June 2013, Mada Masr publishes in Arabic and English and has been blocked inside Egypt since 2017. The outlet says it has repeatedly sought a licence since a new media law was introduced in 2018. It said it received no response to its application and only learned that the media regulator had rejected it when prosecutors questioned Attalah in a separate case in 2022. “We're not against regulation; we have a problem when the licensing becomes a tool of control, a tool of exclusion,” Attalah told AFP ahead of Wednesday’s hearing. US politicians condemn crackdown The prosecution has drawn criticism from US politicians, Egyptian press representatives and international rights organisations. Democratic US Senator Chris Van Hollen has described the charges against Attalah as "an assault on press freedoms". Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib also denounced Atallah's prosecution and called for reviewing US military support for the Sisi government. "Tomorrow, Lina Attalah stands trial in Egypt – simply for being a journalist," she wrote on X. "Egypt must immediately release Lina and all detained journalists. The new Democratic majority in Congress must reassess why we are sending this authoritarian government $1.5 billion in U.S. tax dollars annually." Sisi's 2030 exit plan would keep Egypt in the army's hands Read More » In Egypt, Journalists’ Syndicate head Khaled el-Balshy said the union stood behind Attalah, describing the closure ruling as a warning that ran counter to demands for media reform and the removal of restrictions on the press.. On Tuesday, the UN human rights office urged Egypt to end intimidation and reprisals against journalists and release the detained Matsadaash staff. Press freedom in Egypt has deteriorated sharply since Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led the 2013 military coup against the country's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, with independent outlets shut down or blocked and journalists jailed since Sisi became president a year after the coup. Egypt ranks 169th of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' 2026 index, which said that despite high-profile releases, including that of writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah, Egypt remains one of the world's biggest jailers of journalists. Sisi said last month that he would leave office when his term ends in 2030, ruling out further constitutional changes to extend his presidency and proposing that Egypt’s military academy train potential future leaders Sisi has enjoyed strong support from US President Donald Trump, who has previously called him “my favourite dictator”. Despite criticism of Egypt’s rights record, Washington has continued to prioritise security cooperation with Cairo. In October, the Trump administration waived human rights conditions on $320m in military aid, citing US national security interests. Asked on Tuesday about the waiver and the crackdown on independent journalism, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Egypt as “a reliable and good defence partner”, saying Cairo had complied with requests important to US national security. Rubio said he had not discussed the crackdown with his Egyptian counterpart that day, arguing that foreign policy required balancing disagreements with security cooperation.