Overview
- On Tuesday, October 27, 2026 a New Cairo misdemeanour court found Lina Attalah guilty of operating a website without a licence, fined her 3 million Egyptian pounds, ordered Mada Masr shut and took her into custody until the fine is paid.
- Observers and Attalah’s lawyers said the hearing was rushed: the judge reportedly cleared the courtroom, rejected defence requests to submit documents and hear witnesses, and appointed a lawyer the defence did not accept.
- Mada Masr says it has applied for a licence repeatedly since 2018 and that its site has been blocked inside Egypt since May 2017, while Egypt’s 2018 Press and Media Regulation Law requires websites to hold a licence from the Supreme Council for Media Regulation.
- A coalition of 119 rights and media organisations, plus groups including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and the Committee to Protect Journalists, condemned the verdict as part of a broader campaign that has included the recent detention of six Matsadaash journalists.
- Mada Masr’s lawyers said they will appeal the ruling, and rights groups warn the decision could further shrink independent reporting in Egypt by turning administrative licensing and expedited prosecutions into tools for silencing critics.