The editor-in-chief of Mada Masr faces allegations of managing an unlicensed news platform and disseminating false information linked to coverage of the Rafah crossing. Her defence argues that the presiding judge has already demonstrated bias through an earlier ruling that shuttered the outlet and confiscated its operations equipment. While the Supreme Judicial Council maintains the proceedings remain fair, foreign lawmakers and advocacy groups argue the case forms part of a wider effort to suppress independent reporting. Proceedings will remain paused until mid-November while authorities consider the motion to recuse the magistrate.
Key points
Defence lawyers argue the presiding judge cannot remain impartial due to his prior puniti…: Defence lawyers argue the presiding judge cannot remain impartial due to his prior punitive rulings against the publication.
Mada Masr asserts that state administrative licensing policies are actively leveraged to…: Mada Masr asserts that state administrative licensing policies are actively leveraged to control and exclude independent news platforms.
United States lawmakers and human rights organizations continue to denounce the ongoing l…: United States lawmakers and human rights organizations continue to denounce the ongoing legal targeting of independent Egyptian reporters.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
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.
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