Egyptian Court Shuts Mada Masr and Detains Editor

An Egyptian court ordered the closure of Mada Masr, a prominent independent news website, on Tuesday, ruling that the outlet operated without a license. The court detained the site's editor-in-chief and co-founder, Lina Attalah, and imposed a fine of 3 million Egyptian pounds, approximately $53,400.

Mada Masr stated that its repeated applications for licenses in recent years were either rejected or ignored. During the trial, the presiding judge reportedly refused to review the case file or hear witnesses and appointed an unknown lawyer to represent Attalah despite objections from her defense team.

The ruling follows the recent arrest of a six-member team from the fact-checking outlet Matsaddash, whom authorities accused of affiliation with the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Over 110 civil society organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, condemned the closure as an attack on press freedom. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that Egypt currently detains 25 journalists, one of the highest totals globally.