The Committee to Protect Journalists and 129 organizations condemn the conviction of Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of the independent Egyptian news outlet Mada Masr, and denounce the court’s order to shut down one of the country’s last remaining independent newsrooms.
In a joint statement, rights organizations urged Egyptian authorities to allow Mada Masr to operate freely, and stop weaponizing media permit laws to arrest and prosecute journalists.
“The order to shut down Mada Masr, one of Egypt’s leading media outlets, is outrageous and a clear signal that Egypt is doubling down on its efforts to suppress independent media,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “The world cannot keep watching in silence as Egypt’s independent journalism dies, while Egyptian journalists risk their freedom to keep the public informed.”
On October 27, 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) and the closure of Mada Masr’s website. Attalah was taken into custody inside the courthouse immediately after the ruling, and released approximately seven hours later. The ruling is part of an unprecedented crackdown on the press in Egypt, which recently saw the arrest of the entire newsroom of the investigative platform Matsadaash, and the summoning of journalist Rasha Azab.
Egypt remains one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, with at least 25 currently behind bars.