Egypt orders closure of leading independent news site Mada Masr
An Egyptian court has ordered the closure of Mada Masr, one of the country's last prominent independent news outlets, and fined its editor-in-chief Lina Attalah three million Egyptian pounds ($53,400) for running a website without a licence.
Attalah was taken into custody after Tuesday's ruling but released several hours later after Mada Masr paid the fine in full. During her release procedures, she learned that she had been sentenced in absentia in 2024 to one year in prison on charges of publishing false news and running an unlicensed website. Her lawyers have challenged that ruling, with a retrial hearing scheduled for November 11.
Court Proceedings
In an editorial published hours after the verdict, Mada Masr said it had entered court 'with a measure of faith in the law and the justice system.' The outlet claimed the court refused its lawyers' requests to review the case file, submit additional evidence and call witnesses.
But what we found in court left none of that faith intact.
Legal Basis
The ruling is based on Article 105 of Egypt's 2018 media law, which sets fines of one to three million Egyptian pounds for operating an unlicensed website. Mada Masr says it applied for a licence in 2018 and 2020 without receiving a reply, only learning of a rejection during a previous case in 2022.
An administrative court upheld the council's refusal in 2023, citing the absence of proof that the outlet's trademark was registered, though Mada Masr's lawyer said he had submitted a trademark registration certificate. A new application has been pending since June 2023.
International Reaction
The head of the Journalists' Syndicate, Khaled el-Balshy, said the union would take legal action to appeal the ruling. Amnesty International's senior director for regional impact, Yasmine Ahmed, called the decision 'a crushing blow to press freedom in Egypt and marks a dark day for independent journalism in the country.'
This draconian ruling is the culmination of years of relentless harassment and unjust proceedings designed to shut down one of the country's last remaining independent media voices.
Broader Context
Mada Masr was founded in 2013 and has been blocked inside Egypt since 2017. The outlet says it has faced six cases in six years, with this being the first to reach trial. The verdict came on the same day that Egypt's Supreme State Security Prosecution renewed the detention of six journalists from the fact-checking platform Matsadaash for another 15 days.
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