A Cairo criminal court has postponed the retrial of Lina Attalah, a prominent Egyptian journalist and editor-in-chief of independent news outlet Mada Masr. The trial, which was adjourned until November 18, is in response to charges of "publishing false news," a move that has drawn international condemnation. The United Nations (UN) has voiced concerns over the widening assaults on press freedom by Egyptian authorities, including the targeting, persecution, and harassment of independent journalists. Attalah's legal team argued for a new judge in the case, citing the presiding judge's alleged predetermined conviction against her.
Attalah has been at the center of controversy since last month when she was convicted of running a website without a license and issued a fine of 3 million Egyptian pounds ($56,000; £42,000). Moreover, it was discovered that a court had previously sentenced her to one year in prison for "spreading false news" and operating a website without a license, both charges commonly leveled against journalists and dissidents.
The Egyptian government's crackdown on press freedom has been widely criticized, with the country ranking 169th out of 180 countries for press freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders' 2026 analysis. This is evident in the fact that at least 26 journalists who were arrested in recent years remain in detention. Mada Masr, which was set up 13 years ago and became Egypt's leading independent news site under Attalah's leadership, has reported on alleged corruption, human rights abuses, politics, economics, and regional upheaval.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for the release of six journalists from the independent fact-checking platform Matsda2sh, who were arrested in September and charged with joining the Muslim Brotherhood and financing terrorism. The UN also expressed concerns over Attalah's case, citing issues regarding due process and fair trial. They urged Egypt to end all forms of harassment of journalists and media outlets, and to respect and fulfill the right to freedom of expression, including the right to information.