Egypt sends Lina Attalah to trial for publishing on a website the state has refused to license

Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution questioned Mada Masr editor-in-chief Lina Attalah for more than six hours, then referred her to trial on October 27 for establishing and managing an unlicensed website. She was released on bail of EGP100,000, approximately $1,800. Prosecutors also questioned her about publishing false news but did not include that allegation in the referral.

The licensing history turns the charge into a description of state obstruction. Mada Masr says it has applied to the Supreme Council for Media Regulation repeatedly since 2018. The council did not formally answer; the outlet learned through prosecutors in 2022 that one application had been rejected, and its latest application has remained pending since 2023. The website itself has been blocked inside Egypt since 2017.

A conviction could bring a fine of EGP1mn–3mn, closure of the outlet and confiscation of equipment. The case file cited Mada Masr’s recent reporting on protests inside a prison and a harsh response following the delay of amendments to Egypt’s criminal-procedure law. Attalah and the outlet reject the allegations and argue that journalism is being recast as an offence through a licensing system that offers no workable route to compliance.

This is the sixth criminal case involving Mada Masr in six years. It follows the September arrest of six journalists from the independent outlet Matsadaash, who remain in pretrial detention on charges they deny. The sequence matters: blocking limits the audience, licensing limbo makes continued publication vulnerable, and security prosecution raises the cost for editors and reporters who persist.

A regulator may legitimately require registration, ownership disclosure and legal accountability. It cannot credibly turn non-approval into a criminal offence while declining to issue a timely, appealable decision. The trial will therefore test more than one publication’s paperwork: it asks whether Egypt’s licensing regime is an administrative system or a discretionary veto over independent journalism.