Egyptian journalist's retrial adjourned as UN warns of 'assaults on press freedom'

An Egyptian court on Wednesday postponed until November 18 a retrial of the editor-in-chief of Mada Masr, a prominent independent news site, on charges of publishing false news and running an unlicensed website, according to U.S. News & World Report and Reuters. Human rights groups view the case as a litmus test for the survival of independent journalism in Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country. Reuters reported that Mada Masr's defence submitted a request on Wednesday to change the judge because he had ruled against Attalah in a previous trial on October 27, prompting the judge to postpone the case for a week until the Court of Appeals decides on the change. In last month's ruling, the judge fined Attalah 3 million Egyptian pounds, amounting to $56,200, and ordered the shutdown of Mada Masr after a single hearing on a separate charge that the site operated without a licence. According to U.S. News & World Report, Mada Masr stated that it and other independent websites sought a licence under a 2018 media law that introduced the requirement but received no formal decision. Reuters noted that under licensing rules, Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation must rule on applications within 90 days, though Mada Masr's applications, most recently completed in 2023, received no formal decision. Attalah's lawyers stated that the court rejected their requests last month to review the case file and submit additional evidence, instead appointing a lawyer for her against her objections, while Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council later rejected suggestions that the trial was unfair. In the retrial case, Attalah was sentenced in absentia in 2024 to a year in prison, learning of the sentence on October 27 while being released after the ruling that shuttered her news site, as reported by Reuters. Egyptian authorities have not responded to Reuters requests for comment on the Mada Masr case or wider press freedom issues, though they have repeatedly stated that the state is committed to freedom of expression while requiring media to operate within the law and respect national security. France 24 reported that the United Nations on Tuesday criticized Egypt's widening assaults on press freedom, including the targeting, prosecution, and harassment of independent journalists, with the spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Thameen Al-Kheetan, stating that the prosecution raises fresh concerns regarding due process and fair trial. Rights groups, including Amnesty International, described the crackdown as unprecedented after authorities arrested the entire newsroom of the fact-checking platform Matsadaash in September. According to Reuters, the six Matsadaash journalists remain in jail pending trial on suspicion of spreading misinformation on behalf of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, an accusation the outlet denies. The UN rights commissioner stated that the six journalists have reportedly been subjected to torture and forced to record fabricated confessions, calling for their release. The crackdown has also drawn criticism from US lawmakers, the European Union, and 135 rights groups and media organizations, including Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists, whose regional director, Sara Qudah, called on Egyptian authorities to end the crackdown, reverse Mada Masr's shutdown, and uphold constitutional protections for press freedom. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the United States waived human rights conditions on part of its roughly $1.3 billion in annual military aid to Egypt in September. Attalah told Reuters she wishes to remain in Egypt and hopes the crisis opens a new page for independent media sites allowing them to obtain licences, stating, "I feel there has to be a way to do journalism in Egypt."