A criminal court in Cairo has postponed the retrial of Lina Attalah, the prominent editor-in-chief of the independent news outlet Mada Masr. The opening hearing, which took place on Wednesday, was adjourned until 18 November after the defense team requested a new judge to preside over the case.
The United Nations has expressed concern over the situation, warning of widening assaults on press freedom by Egyptian authorities. The UN noted that these actions include the targeting, persecution, and harassment of independent journalists. Attalah told the BBC that the recent crackdown is intended to send a chilling message to the few remaining newsrooms in the country.
She warned that the atmosphere has become intimidating, stating that everybody should be careful and wondering if they are next. Mada Masr, which was established 13 years ago, has become Egypt's leading independent news site under Attalah's leadership and co-founding.
Last month, the New Cairo Misdemeanours Court convicted Attalah of running a website without a license. She stated that she had tried in vain for years to obtain the necessary permit. As part of the sentence, she was fined 3 million Egyptian pounds, and Mada Masr was ordered to shut down. Following this trial, Attalah discovered that a court had previously sentenced her to one year in prison in absentia in 2024 for spreading false news and operating an unlicensed site, despite her presence in the country at the time.
During the recent opening session, Attalah's defense lawyers requested the judge's recusal. They argued that the judge had already formed a conviction in mind against the defendant. The judge went into recess before adjourning proceedings for a week to allow the court to consider this request. An appeal against last month's separate conviction is scheduled for 25 November.
According to a 2026 analysis by Reporters Without Borders, Egypt ranks 169th out of 180 countries for press freedom. The organization reports that at least 26 journalists arrested in recent years remain in detention. While most state-aligned media follow government lines, Mada Masr remained a rare independent source that reported on corruption, human rights abuses, and regional conflicts in Libya, Sudan, and Gaza.
In September, six journalists from the fact-checking platform Matsda2sh were arrested in home raids and held incommunicado for nearly a week. They have since been charged with joining the Muslim Brotherhood and financing terrorism, though their lawyers report no evidence linking them to the movement. A UN spokesperson called for their release and for all charges to be dropped, stating that the case against Attalah raises fresh concerns regarding due process.
Attalah suggested that the authorities are trying to silence independent voices during a period of economic strain and regional instability. It has been noted that these legal actions follow the US State Department waiving human rights conditions on 320 million dollars in foreign military funding for Egypt in September. This waiver allowed the funds to be released as part of Washington's annual 1.3 billion dollar military aid package.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he did not discuss the recent journalism crackdown with Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during their meeting in Paris on Monday. Rubio described the relationship as a balancing act to further US national interests, noting that Egypt has been a reliable defense partner. He added that not discussing the matter does not mean the US agrees with everything the Egyptian government does.
