Retrial of Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah suspended

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. Read more: Retrial of Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah adjourned amid criticism of media crackdown