Egypt court postpones hearing in case against prominent journalist

Detailed summary

The prosecution of Lina Attalah, one of Egypt's most prominent independent journalists, has drawn criticism from the United Nations, media watchdogs and rights groups, who say it…

A Cairo court on Wednesday postponed the retrial of the editor-in-chief of independent news outlet Mada Masr until next week to consider a defence request seeking the recusal of the judge, the outlet said.

The prosecution of Lina Attalah, one of Egypt's most prominent independent journalists, has drawn criticism from the United Nations, media watchdogs and rights groups, who say it could deal a final blow to one of the last remaining independent voices in Egypt's tightly controlled media landscape.

Attalah is being retried after she was handed a one-year prison sentence in absentia in 2024, without her knowledge, for operating a news website without a licence and "publishing false news" -- a charge commonly levelled against journalists and dissidents in Egypt.

Her lawyer, Hassan El-Azhary, said the defence would submit the grounds for their recusal request ahead of the next hearing, scheduled for November 18, arguing that the judge "had previously formed a conviction against the defendant".

The case is being heard by Judge Mohamed Mubarak, who on October 27 fined Attalah 3 million Egyptian pounds (about $56,000) and ordered the closure of Mada Masr in a separate case involving similar allegations.

While attending that hearing, Attalah said she was informed for the first time that she had already been sentenced in absentia in 2024 in the current case.

A hearing on Attalah's appeal against the October 27 ruling is set for November 25.

Mada Masr, which survived more than a decade of restrictions on the press in Egypt, said it had applied for a licence several times, but its applications have gone unanswered.

The UN on Tuesday criticised what it described as Egypt's "widening assaults on press freedom", including the "targeting, prosecution and harassment of independent journalists".

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