Shirin Yaseen, Associate Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said on Thursday, October 29, 2026, in response to a question about the closure of the “Mada Masr” website and the fining of its editor-in-chief Lina Attalah: “We saw these reports, and our general position on this and our clear position on this is that journalists should not be detained simply because they are doing their job. And governments must respect the freedom of expression,” during the daily press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.
Yaseen was asked whether Guterres had raised the case during his recent visit to Cairo, and she said that the Secretary-General’s office had shared a readout of his meeting with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, which mainly focused on regional developments, Egypt’s role and the mediation efforts on Gaza, Sudan and Libya, and added: “While this topic might not have been discussed, but I can tell you that human rights and all sorts of topics related to this are always discussed on various UN levels in the UN system.” She noted that the Secretary-General will issue a message on November 2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.
When she was asked for a clearer comment on press freedom in Egypt, she said she had nothing to add, emphasizing that “journalists’ work is fundamental to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.”
The New Cairo Misdemeanor Court had ruled, on Tuesday, October 27, to fine Lina Attalah 3 million pounds (about $53,500) and to close the website and confiscate its devices, on the charge of managing a website without a license. The European Union called on Egypt, after the ruling, to protect independent media.
Photo: Jakub Hałun via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
