Egyptian court orders closure of independent news site Mada Masr and fines its editor

A Cairo court on Tuesday convicted Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of the independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr, of running a website without a license, fined her 3 million Egyptian pounds and ordered the outlet closed, according to Mada Masr, the AP and the BBC. Attalah was held for several hours and released after Mada Masr paid the fine, the maximum for the charge. During her release she learned of a one-year prison sentence issued against her in absentia in 2024; Mada Masr said her lawyers have challenged it and a retrial hearing is set for Nov. 11. The outlet says it has sought a license since 2018 without approval.

Amnesty International called the ruling "a crushing blow to press freedom," and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urged authorities to reverse it. Human rights advocate Hossam Bahgat, who was in the courtroom, told AFP that the judge denied defense requests and appointed a lawyer Attalah had not chosen, the BBC reported.

Why it matters: Mada Masr is one of the few independent news outlets still operating in Egypt, and press-freedom groups say the ruling signals that critical reporting there faces growing legal risk.