Egyptian court orders Mada Masr closed and fines editor Lina Attalah

An Egyptian court ordered the Cairo-based independent news outlet Mada Masr closed and detained its editor in chief, Lina Attalah, after convicting her of managing an unlicensed website, according to reports published on October 27, 2026. A subsequent report on October 28 said she had been released after the fine was paid.¹²³

Fine and release

The court imposed a fine of 3 million Egyptian pounds, which the BBC described as the maximum penalty for the charge. The New York Times reported that security personnel carried Attalah from the courthouse and that her lawyers were seeking bail and intended to appeal.¹²

By October 28, lawyer Hassan al-Azhari said Mada Masr had paid the fine and Attalah had been freed, according to the Guardian. That account updated the earlier reports of her detention; it also reported the court's order to shut the website.¹²³

Licensing and the hearing

Founded in 2013, Mada Masr had repeatedly sought permission to operate from the Supreme Media Regulatory Council following the 2018 media law, according to the BBC. Its applications were either refused or received no response, the broadcaster reported. The Guardian separately reported the outlet's statement that an application made three years earlier had gone unanswered.¹²³

The BBC reported that the investigation included a report about protests in prisons and a letter from the regulator concerning Mada Masr's legal status. It also reported that prosecutors questioned Attalah over allegations of publishing false news and running an unlicensed website before she was released on bail and subsequently sent to trial.¹

Procedural concerns about the hearing were raised by Hossam Bahgat, who leads the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. According to his account reported by the BBC, the judge appointed a lawyer from the Lawyers' Syndicate despite Attalah's objection, declined to record that objection and entered motions into the record on behalf of the appointed lawyer, who had not spoken.¹

Press freedom concerns

Amnesty International called for the verdict to be overturned. The Committee to Protect Journalists demanded Attalah's immediate release and said Mada Masr should be able to continue reporting. Reporters Without Borders also condemned the decision and called for her release, according to the Guardian.¹³

According to The New York Times, Mada Masr is among the small number of media organizations in Egypt operating independently, and its website has been inaccessible within the country since 2017. Mahmoud Kamel, deputy head of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, warned that the ruling would discourage other journalists, the newspaper reported.²

The Committee to Protect Journalists puts the number of journalists detained in Egypt at 25. In a separate case, the Guardian reported that the entire six-person team of the independent factchecking platform Matsadaash had been arrested and charged with membership of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Those charges are allegations, not findings of membership.¹²³