Egypt convicts editor Lina Attalah and orders independent outlet Mada Masr shut

L2Who’s affected

Mada Masr's journalists and readers, and the entire six-person team of factchecking platform Matsadaash, who were arrested and charged with belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. CPJ says Egypt has 25 journalists behind bars.

L3Why it’s quiet

Analysis · OVERLOOKED Egypt's crackdowns move step by step, which rarely produces a single headline moment for foreign audiences.

L4Deeper impact

EIPR head Hossam Bahgat said security agencies are “moving from years of harassing independent media to wiping them out completely.” PEN International says this is the sixth case against Mada Masr in six years but the first of its kind referred to trial.

L5Full context

Attalah founded Mada Masr in 2013 after coming to prominence during the 2011 Arab spring. Mada Masr says it applied for a licence three years ago and got no reply. EIPR says the moves follow repeated statements by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi since August about a conspiracy to destabilise Egypt; he has said he intends to remain in power until 2030. RSF called the ruling “outrageous” and “shameful”; Amnesty called it “a crushing blow to press freedom.”

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