Court orders Mada Masr's closure and detains editor Lina Attalah

Egypt's New Cairo Misdemeanours Court convicted Lina Attalah of running an unlicensed website, fined her 3 million Egyptian pounds and ordered her outlet Mada Masr closed.

• The court imposed the maximum fine of 3 million Egyptian pounds ($53,500) for founding, managing and operating an unlicensed website — a charge Attalah rejected.
• Attalah was detained Tuesday after the judge cleared the courtroom, denied defence requests and appointed a court-selected lawyer over her objection, said Hossam Bahgat of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.
• The court also ordered Mada Masr's closure; the outlet had sought an operating licence since 2018 but its applications were rejected or unanswered, CPJ said.
• Amnesty International demanded the verdict be overturned, saying Attalah was prosecuted for doing her journalistic job.