A coalition of press freedom groups has condemned what it calls an unrelenting campaign of judicial and security harassment against Mada Masr, one of Egypt’s last remaining independent newsrooms, after its editor-in-chief Lina Attalah was summoned for interrogation this month.
Fresh Interrogation Linked to Prison Abuse Report
On August 4, Attalah appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) in Case No. 6182 of 2025 — just 48 hours after her outlet published an investigative report detailing poor detention conditions and alleged abuse inside Badr 3 Prison.
The report included a leaked letter purportedly from former Alexandria Deputy Governor Hassan El-Borens. A day later, the Interior Ministry dismissed the document as “fabricated” and vowed legal action against those it accused of circulating it. Press freedom groups say the response highlights how quickly state institutions move to criminalize critical reporting.
Denial of Union Representation Raises Alarm
During the interrogation, the SSSP barred journalist Iman Ouf from attending as a representative of the Press Syndicate, despite Egypt’s own laws granting journalists union representation during such proceedings.
Advocates argue that blocking this right is not just a procedural slight — it’s part of a wider effort to weaken professional bodies that have historically defended reporters from political and legal pressure.
A Pattern of Targeting
The August questioning fits a pattern that has been building for years. Press freedom monitors point to a string of legal actions against Mada Masr staff:
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May 2020: Attalah arrested outside Tora Prison while interviewing the family of detained activist Alaa Abdel Fattah; charged with filming without a permit, later released on bail.
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September 2022: Attalah and three colleagues interrogated over a report on alleged corruption in the pro-government Nation’s Future Party; all released on bail.
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2024: Attalah summoned over coverage of possible forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza following a complaint by the Supreme Council for Media Regulation.
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2024: Journalist Rana Mamdouh detained while reporting in Ras El-Hekma; referred to SSSP and freed on bail.
All of these cases remain open, meaning the journalists could face renewed prosecution at any time.
Independent Journalism Under Pressure
Founded in 2013, Mada Masr has operated in an increasingly hostile media climate. Most independent outlets in Egypt have either been shut down, blocked online, or forced to align with state narratives. Those that remain face travel bans, asset freezes, and prolonged legal entanglements.
Rights advocates say the targeting of Attalah and her colleagues is emblematic of a broader erosion of press freedom, where the combination of restrictive laws and aggressive prosecutions has created what one watchdog described as a “permanent state of intimidation.”
International Concern
Several global press freedom organizations — including the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders — have urged Egyptian authorities to drop all charges against Mada Masr staff and to end what they call politically motivated legal harassment.
While the government defends its actions as law enforcement, critics argue that prosecuting journalists for their reporting undermines Egypt’s own constitutional guarantees of free expression.
For Attalah, who has faced arrest, bail conditions, and repeated summons over the past five years, the latest case adds another layer of uncertainty. For Egypt’s few remaining independent reporters, it signals that the space for unflinching journalism continues to shrink.
