The Supreme State Security Prosecution has summoned Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of Mada Masr, to appear for questioning on Wednesday, October 21, in Case No. 9072 of 2026, registered with the Supreme State Security Prosecution, according to an announcement by the website on Monday. The summons did not specify the reasons for the investigation or the nature of the charges she might face.
The new summons comes approximately 14 and a half months after the Supreme State Security Prosecution questioned Attalah on August 4, 2025, in Case No. 6182 of 2025, following the website’s publication of a report titled “Badr 3: Where Prisoners Face a Slow Death.” The report addressed detainees’ complaints about detention conditions and included a leaked letter attributed to former Alexandria Deputy Governor Hassan El-Prince, in which he described violations inside the prison. The Ministry of Interior denied the authenticity of the letter, described it as fabricated, and announced legal measures against those circulating it.
During the investigation, prosecutors charged Attalah with spreading false news and operating a website without a license. They questioned her about the sources of information contained in the report and the reasons for her confidence in those sources, before ordering her release on bail of EGP 30,000 ($621.12). Attalah denied the charges and affirmed the website’s commitment to professional standards and its efforts to present different viewpoints, including official government responses.
The Cairo Appeals Prosecution had previously summoned Attalah in November 2023 in Case No. 22 of 2023, following a decision by the Supreme Council for Media Regulation to refer Mada Masr officials to the prosecution over a report addressing scenarios for the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt. The investigation, initially scheduled for December of that year, was postponed before prosecutors summoned her again in February 2024, charging her with publishing false news and operating a website without a license. She was subsequently released on bail of EGP 5,000 ($103.52).
The disputes over licensing date back several years. Mada Masr submitted two applications for a license, in October 2018 and August 2020, according to the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, before the Administrative Court rejected the website’s appeal against the licensing refusal in 2023. In October 2023, the Supreme Council for Media Regulation announced a six-month blocking order against the website, although access to it from inside Egypt had already been blocked since 2017.
Attalah and three other Mada Masr journalists were also questioned in September 2022 over the publication of a news report concerning allegations of financial irregularities within the Nation’s Future Party, before being released on bail. In May 2020, security forces arrested Attalah while she was conducting a journalistic interview near the Tora Prison Complex. Prosecutors subsequently released her on bail.
The latest summons comes as investigations continue into six journalists from Matsada2sh, a fact-checking platform, who were arrested by security forces on September 28 and 29. They are Abdallah Qadri, Mohamed Ashraf Abu Omeira, Mohamed Adel, Islam Barakat, Mohamed Mahmoud, and Omar Helal. According to the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, the six journalists constitute the platform’s entire editorial team operating inside Egypt.
The journalists are being investigated in Case No. 8083 of 2026, registered with the Supreme State Security Prosecution. Based on National Security Agency investigations, prosecutors accused them of working within a media committee affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, publishing false news and statements, and receiving foreign funding. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, however, challenged the prosecution’s statement, saying it failed to identify a single report published by the platform that had been proven false. The organization also criticized the journalists’ detention for five days before they were brought before investigators and the failure to address their complaints of ill-treatment and torture.
On October 13, investigators ordered the detention of the six journalists to be extended for another 15 days. The Journalists Syndicate renewed its demand for their release, confirming that it was taking legal and syndicate measures to defend all members of the team, including the five who are not registered with the syndicate.
In August 2025, following the investigation of Attalah, 21 Egyptian and international human rights organizations issued a joint statement calling for all pending cases against her and Mada Masr journalists to be dropped. They also demanded an end to the use of the Supreme State Security Prosecution and counterterrorism procedures in cases involving journalism and publishing, as well as the lifting of restrictions blocking independent news websites, including Mada Masr, Al Manassa, and Zawia3.
