Responding to the news that Lina Atallah, editor-in-chief of independent outlet Mada Masr, has been summoned to appear before Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) today for investigation in a new criminal case against her, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Regional Impact, Yasmine Ahmed, said:
“It is utterly disgraceful that the Egyptian authorities are once again targeting Lina Atallah for the brave and professional reporting by her team at Mada Masr. This is the sixth case against Mada Masr and its journalists in six years, illustrating the Egyptian authorities’ relentless harassment of independent journalists who challenge the state-controlled narrative.
“Lina Atallah has been bravely leading one of the few remaining independent media outlets in Egypt and should never have been targeted with these successive investigations. Egyptian authorities must immediately end all judicial harassment against her and Mada Masr staff.
“This summons is part of a wider crackdown on independent media and freedom of expression. It comes just weeks after the arbitrary arrest of six journalists at the fact-checking platform Matsadaash who are being held in pretrial detention pending criminal investigation. Instead of repeatedly subjecting journalists to unjust prosecution on unfounded terrorism-related or ‘false news’ charges, the authorities must release the Matsadaash journalists and allow journalists to investigate and report free from intimidation, harassment or fear of reprisals.”
Background
Over the past six years, Lina Atallah and her Mada Masr colleagues have faced six politically motivated prosecutions over their reporting. Most recently, on 4 August 2025, the authorities summoned Atallah for questioning on unfounded charges, including “spreading false news” and “operating a website without a license,” over an article published on 31 July 2025 about deteriorating detention conditions in Badr 3 prison. She was released on bail pending investigation. Criminal investigations against her and Mada Masr staff remain open in five cases. Mada Masr has unsuccessfully sought a license since 2018.
On the same day that prosecutors summoned Lina Atallah for investigation, President Abdelfattah al-Sisi spoke at the conference Egypt Forum 2026, saying at the government “listens, discusses, and accepts any criticism.”
The ongoing crackdown on journalists has also targeted those who took part in a sit-in at the Journalists Syndicate, which began on 3 October 2026, in solidarity with the arbitrarily detained Matsadaash journalists. On 5 October 2026, journalist Rasha Azab, a participant, was questioned over a social media post criticizing the ministry of interior. The SSSP accused her of terrorism-related charges and released her on bail of EGP 10,000. On 19 October 2026, the journalists announced they were suspending the sit-in.
At least 18 journalists were jailed in Egypt a, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Hundreds of websites remain blocked in the country, including Mada Masr, other media outlets and independent NGOs.