We, the undersigned organizations, condemn in the strongest terms the conviction of Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of the independent Egyptian news outlet Mada Masr, and the court’s order to shut down one of the country’s leading and last remaining independent newsrooms. This is the latest episode in a new and escalating crackdown on Egypt’s independent media. We call on the Egyptian authorities to allow Mada Masr to operate freely. 

This unprecedented attack on independent media began in late September with the arrest of six journalists from the investigative and fact-checking platform Matsadaash, some of whom told prosecutors they were tortured and forced to record fabricated “confessions.” The campaign has since widened: Journalist Rasha Azab was summoned for questioning, and the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate has been targeted by a coordinated defamation campaign. 

In the latest incident, the New Cairo Misdemeanor Court convicted Attalah of managing an unlicensed website and imposed the maximum penalty: a fine of 3 million Egyptian pounds (about US$54,000), the closure of Mada Masr’s website and the confiscation of its devices and equipment. Attalah was taken into custody inside the courthouse immediately after the ruling and released after 7 hours. 

During the release procedures, Attalah was surprised to discover an in absentia conviction issued against her in 2024—sentencing her to one year in prison on charges of disseminating false news and operating a website without a license. Her defense team has filed an objection to the in absentia judgment, and a hearing has been scheduled for 11 November 2026 to review the case. 

Attalah’s trial was marked by serious violations of her right to a fair trial. According to reports from the hearing, journalists were excluded from the courtroom during critical stages of the proceedings, and the defense was prevented from being granted adequate time to review the case file and from presenting key procedural requests, including requests to submit documents and hear witnesses. 

The reports also describe how the court appointed a lawyer for Attalah despite her objections and the presence of her eight-member legal team, and proceeded to announce its verdict regardless. 

Mada Masr’s legal team plans to appeal the ruling and pursue all available legal avenues to overturn it. 

Attalah was interrogated and referred to trial shortly after Mada Masr joined other Egyptian and regional outlets in standing up a solidarity flash newsroom to fill the gap in coverage following the arrest of the six Matsadaash journalists. 

The expanding arrest, closure and defamation campaign against independent media sends a clear message of fear and intimidation to newsrooms across the country. 

We call on the Egyptian authorities to:

● Grant licenses to independent outlets without discrimination and allow them to operate freely, and end the use of licensing provisions under the media law to criminalize journalism. 

● End the campaign of intimidation against journalists, independent media and the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate. 

● Release the 25 journalists currently held in Egyptian custody immediately and unconditionally. 

Signatories: 

1. 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media 

2. Access Now 

3. Al Manassa 

4. Al Qatiba 

5. Alhudood 

6. American Committee for Middle East Rights (ACMER) 

7. Amnesty International 

8. Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies (AITAS) 

9. Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) 

10. Arab foundation for civil society and human rights 

11. Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) 

12. ARTICLE 19 

13. Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE). 

14. Assafir Al-Arabi 

15. Athr 

16. AVAAZ 

17. AWID 

18. Babelmed 

19. Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN 

20. Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC) 21. Cartoonists Rights 

22. Cedar Centre for Legal Studies 

23. Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) 

24. Center for International Policy (CIP) Washington 

25. Center for Media Research – Nepal 

26. Centre for Law and Democracy 

27. Committee for Justice (CFJ) 

28. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) 

29. Daraj Media 

30. Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) 

31. Digital Action 

32. Digital Rights Foundation 

33. Drop Site News 

34. DW Akademie 

35. Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF)

36. Egyptian Front for Human Rights 

37. Egyptian Human Rights Forum (EHRF) 

38. EgyptWide for Human Rights 

39. En toutes lettres 

40. English PEN 

41. EuroMed Rights Network 

42. FactcheckAr 

43. Factjaja 

44. FactWatch, Bangladesh 

45. FairSquare 

46. Febrayer Network 

47. Fondation Hirondelle 

48. Free Press Unlimited (FPU) 

49. Gherbal Initiative 

50. Global Center for Journalism and Trauma 

51. Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) 

52. Global Voices 

53. Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) 

54. Hounna Feminist Platform 

55. HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement 

56. Human Rights Watch 

57. Huquqyat 

58. Informed 

59. Inkyfada 

60. International Fact-Checking Network 

61. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders 

62. International Federation of Journalists (FIJ) 

63. International Journalism Festival 

64. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) 

65. International Press Institute (IPI) 

66. Internews Kosova KALLXO 

67. Intersection Association For Rights and Freedoms (IARF) 

68. Jadaliyya 

69. Journalisme & Citoyenneté / Sahafa Med 

70. Jummar 

71. Khateera 

72. Khatt 30 

73. Law and Democracy Support Foundation (LDSF) 

74. Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) 

75. Lokman Slim Foundation 

76. Maghreb Emergent 

77. MARE. Collectif 

78. Media Diversity Institute – Jabal Amel Report

79. Meedan 

80. MENA Prison Forum 

81. MENA Rights Group 

82. Middle East Matters (MEM) 

83. Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) 

84. Mnemonic 

85. Najda for Human rights 

86. Nawaat 

87. New Narratives 

88. Nouvelles Rencontres d’Averroès (Marseille) 

89. Orient XXI 

90. Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) 91. PEN America 

92. PEN International 

93. Press Club Belarus 

94. Rachma Media 

95. Raseef22 

96. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 

97. RESURJ l Global south-led transnational feminist alliance 

98. Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center 

99. Rory Peck Trust 

100. Rozana Media 

101. Rural Media Network Pakistan 

102. Rusted Radishes 

103. Samir Kassir Foundation 

104. Share3 Media (Syria) 

105. Sinai Foundation for Human Rights 

106. SMEX 

107. Start Point 

108. Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) 

109. Syrians for Truth and Justice – STJ 

110. TAFNIED 

111. The Alternative Policy Institute (BADIL) 

112. The Funambulist 

113. The New Humanitarian 

114. The Key Magazine 

115. The Legal Agenda 

116. The Markaz Review 

117. The Public Source 

118. The Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in South West Asia and North Africa (WHRDMENA) 

119. The Syria Campaign 

120. The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) 

121. UMAM Documentation & Research

122. Union of Journalists in Lebanon 

123. Verify 

124. Vita-Activa.Org 

125. Wasl Rights 

126. Women for Justice Foundation (WJF) 

127. Women Journalist Alliance 

128. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders 

129. Zawia3

Photo: AP/Roger Anis