Egypt orders closure of leading independent news site Mada Masr

What the report says

An Egyptian court has ordered the closure of Mada Masr, one of the country’s best-known independent news outlets, and imposed a three million Egyptian pound fine on editor-in-chief Lina Attalah for operating a website without a licence, according to Al Jazeera. The New Cairo Misdemeanour Court also ordered the seizure of the outlet’s equipment and devices.

Al Jazeera reported that Attalah was taken into custody after the ruling, then released later the same day once Mada Masr paid the fine. During the release process, she was informed that she had separately been sentenced in absentia in 2024 to one year in prison on charges linked to publishing false news and running an unlicensed website. Mada Masr said its lawyers are challenging that case, with a retrial hearing set for November 11.

The outlet said the court refused several defence requests during Tuesday’s hearing, including access to the case file, the submission of more evidence and the calling of witnesses. Mada Masr also said the judge appointed a court lawyer over objections from Attalah and her team. The publication, founded in 2013 and blocked inside Egypt since 2017, said it has faced multiple cases in recent years.

The ruling is being seen as significant because Mada Masr has remained one of the few prominent independent media voices in Egypt. Rights groups and press-freedom advocates, as quoted by Al Jazeera, described the decision as a serious setback for journalism in the country. Al Jazeera also noted that the verdict came amid renewed detention of journalists from another Egyptian fact-checking platform, underscoring the broader pressure facing the media sector.