Egyptian authorities released journalist Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of Mada Masr, after the payment of a fine of EGP 3 million ($62,111.80), imposed by the New Cairo Misdemeanors Court on Tuesday, October 27, in a case in which she was accused of establishing, managing, and operating a website without a license.
Attalah was released after seven hours of detention inside the New Cairo Misdemeanors Court, following the ruling issued at the first hearing of Case No. 11743 of 2026. The court imposed a fine of EGP 3 million ($62,111.80), ordered Mada Masr’s closure, and confiscated its equipment and devices, representing the maximum penalty prescribed for the charge against her.
During the procedures for her release, Attalah unexpectedly discovered that a court had issued a judgment in absentia against her in 2024, sentencing her to one year in prison on charges of “publishing false news and operating a website without a license.” Her defense team filed an opposition to the judgment in absentia, and a hearing was scheduled for November 11, 2026, to examine the opposition.
The New Cairo Misdemeanors Court, presided over by Judge Mohamed Mubarak, had issued its ruling on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. The ruling was followed by Attalah’s detention by security forces, according to Mada Masr.
The verdict was delivered after the court rejected the defense’s requests and appointed a lawyer despite the presence of the original defense team and Attalah’s objections, according to Hossam Bahgat, executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, who attended the hearing and spoke to Mada Masr about its details.
Bahgat said the court adjourned the hearing after the defense insisted on requesting sufficient time to examine the case documents. The judge then ordered the courtroom to be completely cleared, leaving only Attalah and the lawyers present to defend her.
According to his account, the courtroom subsequently filled with officers and guards wearing civilian clothes, and an officer from the National Security Agency was present. When the presiding judge and the State Security Prosecution representative returned, the judge announced that the court maintained its rejection of all procedural motions submitted by the defense, including requests to submit documents and hear witnesses.
The presiding judge asked the defense team to present its arguments, but the lawyers maintained their refusal to plead because their requests had not been granted. Bahgat added that the judge then ordered the entry of a lawyer unknown to any member of the defense team and announced his appointment to defend Attalah, in a move Bahgat described as “astonishing to everyone present.”
The current proceedings began with Attalah’s summons on October 19, followed by more than six hours of questioning on October 21 and her release on bail of EGP 100,000 ($2,070.39). The following day, she learned that she had been referred to trial, according to a statement published by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.
Zawia3 had documented that the case carries No. 11743 of 2026, Fifth Settlement Misdemeanors, and is registered under No. 9072 of 2026, Supreme State Security. The referral to trial was limited to the charge of operating a website without a license, excluding the accusation of publishing false news that had been raised during the investigation.
According to information published by Mada Masr, citing its lawyer Hassan Elazhary, the website received no response to its licensing applications submitted in 2018 and 2020, and learned that its application had been rejected during an investigation in 2022. Its latest application, submitted in June 2023, remained pending without a response.
The trial is among six cases faced by the institution and its journalists over six years, according to previous coverage by Zawia3. The latest summons coincided with Mada Masr’s participation in a solidarity newsroom bringing together eight media organizations to fact-check statements made during the Egypt 2026 Forum, compensating for the absence of the detained Matsda2sh team.
