- Published
A criminal court in Cairo has postponed the retrial of the prominent Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah, whose case has drawn international condemnation.
asserted
case → publish → condemnation
Wednesday's opening hearing was adjourned until 18 November after defence lawyers representing the editor-in-chief of the news outlet Mada Masr requested a new judge.
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lawyers → open → judge
The UN has warned of "widening assaults on press freedom by Egyptian authorities, including the targeting, persecution and harassment of independent journalists".
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UN → warn → journalists
Attalah told the BBC that a recent crackdown was meant to "send a chilling message" to "the very few newsrooms that are left".
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that → tell → newsrooms
She warned: "Everybody should be careful, everybody should be scared, everybody should be wondering if they are next."
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they → warn → ?
Set up 13 years ago, Mada Masr became Egypt's leading independent news site with Attalah as its editor-in-chief and co-founder.
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Masr → Set → chief
Last month, another Cairo court convicted her of running a website without a licence - which she said she had tried in vain for years to obtain.
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she → convict → years
She was issued a hefty fine of 3 million Egyptian pounds ($56,000; £42,000) and Mada Masr was ordered to shut down.
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Masr → issue → pounds
After that trial, Attalah found that a court had previously given her a one-year prison sentence, without her knowledge, for "spreading false news" - a charge often used against journalists and dissidents - as well as operating a website without a licence.
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court → find → licence
It was issued in absentia in 2024, even though she was in the country at the time.
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she → issue → time
Attalah is now being retried in that case by the same judge.
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Attalah → retry → judge
Egypt has largely stifled freedom of the press, ranking 169th out of 180 countries for press freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders' 2026 analysis.
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Egypt → stifle → analysis
The group says that at least 26 journalists who were arrested in recent years remain in detention.
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who → say → detention
While most newspapers and television stations now keep to government lines, Mada Masr remained a rare, independent and investigative news source in Egypt.
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Masr → keep → Egypt
However, since 2017 the site could only be viewed from outside the country.
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site → view → country
It had reported on alleged corruption and human rights abuses, and provided deep coverage of politics and economics, as well as regional upheaval and wars in Libya, Sudan and Gaza.
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It → report → Libya
In her BBC interview on Sunday, Attalah insisted that the factual reporting and professional standards of Mada Masr had an important role to play in Egyptian society, which could benefit the government.
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which → insist → government
"It's much better if you have a little space left to have it open for professional media organisations who do rigorous reporting, because if we disappear, then you make the space for conspiracies and disinformation," she said.
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she → have → conspiracies
"People need to know, people need to consume information and you're shooting yourself in the foot if you're killing the newsrooms that do it properly."
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that → need → it
In September, six journalists with the independent fact-checking platform, Matsda2sh - constituting its entire newsroom - were arrested in home raids by the Egyptian authorities and held incommunicado for nearly a week.
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journalists → constitute → week
They have since been charged with joining the Muslim Brotherhood and financing terrorism, and their lawyers report that several were beaten and electrocuted in detention.
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several → charge → detention
They say that no evidence has been presented linking them to the Brotherhood.
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evidence → say → Brotherhood
Egypt's former president Mohammed Morsi – who was backed by the Muslim Brotherhood – was removed from power by the military, led by Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, in July 2013 after widespread protests.
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who → back → protests
Under Sisi, who became president the following year, the Islamist movement was classed as a terrorist organisation, leading to a widespread clampdown.
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movement → become → clampdown
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Thameen Al-Kheetan, called for the Matsda2sh reporters to be released, with all charges dropped.
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charges → call → Rights
He also said the case against Attalah "raises fresh concerns regarding due process and fair trial".
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case → say → process
"We call on Egypt to end all forms of harassment of journalists and media outlets, and to respect and fulfil the right to freedom of expression, including the right to information," Al-Kheetan said.
"
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Kheetan → call → information
The steps taken to suppress the continued work of both Matsda2sh and Mada Masr must be overturned.
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steps → take → Matsda2sh
The people of Egypt have a right to read and hear views expressed through these fora on issues of legitimate public concern.
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people → have → concern
Attalah has suggested the authorities might again be trying to silence independent voices at a time of economic strain in Egypt and regional instability.
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authorities → suggest → Egypt
It has been widely noted that recent legal action against journalists comes after the US State Department waived human rights conditions on $320m (£240m) in its foreign military funding for Egypt in September.
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Department → note → September
This allowed the funds to be released as part of Washington's annual $1.3bn military aid package.
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funds → allow → package
The BBC asked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio whether he had raised the recent crackdown on independent journalism with Egypt's Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, at their meeting about regional tensions in Paris on Monday.
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he → ask → Monday
"We didn't discuss it today," Rubio said.
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Rubio → discuss → it
"That doesn't mean you agree with everything another government does," he went on, adding that he was not "opining about their journalists".
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he → mean → journalists
The Aporia
