Egypt’s last surviving free press being ‘silenced,’ says leading journalist who faces jail

Egypt’s latest prosecution of journalists attempts to “silence” the last surviving vestiges of the free press, Lina Attalah, head of preeminent outlet Mada Masr, tells AFP days before she faces jail time, depending on the conclusions of the court.

In recent weeks, Egypt has detained the entire staff of fact-checking platform Matsadaash, ordered the closure of Mada Masr, and informed its chief of a one-year prison sentence handed down in absentia.

“It’s hard to separate between those two incidents,” she tells AFP.

“It seems to be a new chapter in trying to limit the already-limited space that there is for independent media.”

Press Crackdown in Egypt: Mada Masr Editor Lina Attalah Referred to Trial https://t.co/MH3R91kmqU

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As Egypt grapples with economic and political struggles amid regional upheaval, Attalah says there seems to be a belief that “silencing the media is the solution to Egypt’s problems.”

Cairo has long been criticized for its rights record, and has, for over a decade, shuttered nearly all space for dissent.

Attalah is one of Egypt’s most prominent journalists, 26 of whom are currently behind bars.

Her prosecution drew swift international outcry, including from the European Union and members of the US Congress.

The current crackdown has been described as “unprecedented” by 135 media organizations and rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

With Egypt’s last surviving outlets under threat, “there are very few organizations left with expertise of rigorous reporting,” Attalah says. “So we are left with silence.”