Egyptian security services on Sunday detained the editor-in-chief of prominent independent news outlet Mada Masr, its lawyer said, the latest in a crackdown against journalists. Lina Attallah was arrested outside Cairo’s Tora prison as she was interviewing rights activist Laila Soueif, mother of jailed activist Alaa Abdel Fattah who recently began a hunger strike. “The prison security guards asked Attallah to show her identification card and later called her in for an investigation that lasted three hours,” lawyer Hassan al-Azhari told AFP. He said she was later taken a police station and was expected to appear before the prosecution Monday morning, adding the reason for her arrest and charges remained unclear.
Later on Sunday, Mada Masr tweeted that the prosecution ordered Attallah’s release on bail of 2,000 Egyptian pounds ($127). Atallah was sent back to Maadi police station to finalise her release procedures, it said. Mada Masr is an online outlet that investigates corruption and security issues in both Arabic and English. Its website has been blocked in Egypt in recent years along with hundreds of others including many critical of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government. VPNs and other mirror sites are often used to bypass the block.
In November, security forces raided Mada Masr’s offices in Cairo and questioned journalists there. Attallah and others were briefly detained. The New York-based organisation said Thursday that Egyptian authorities arrested journalist Haitham Mahgoub who works for a local privately-owned newspaper. Citing his lawyer, it said Mahgoub faced charges of spreading false news and joining and funding a terrorist group.
In March, British newspaper The Guardian said its reporter in Egypt was forced to leave after her credentials were revoked over a report on coronavirus infections in the country. Egypt has increasingly targeted journalists in an ongoing crackdown against dissidents since the 2013 military ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. The clampdown has swept up thousands of the late Morsi’s Islamist supporters as well as secular activists, lawyers and academics. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says at least 29 journalists are being held in jail in Egypt, which ranks 166th out of 180 countries in its 2020 world press freedom index.
AFP
Wiki Profile
Lina Attalah (: لينا عطاالله) is an Egyptian media figure and journalist. Attalah is co-founder and chief editor of , an independent online Egyptian newspaper and was previously managing editor of the prior to its print edition closure in 2013. She is active in the fight against the restriction of honest journalism. recognized her as a "New Generation Leader", calling her the "Muckraker of the Arab World" in 2018, and including her in Most Influential People of 2020.
in 2020 she was awarded the from the .
Education
[]Attalah is an alumna of the in Duino, Italy. She then studied journalism at .
Journalism
[]Attalah's journalism has covered notable events in the Egyptian world, including the . She has published articles in , , and the and for the news agency. She worked as a radio producer and campaign coordinator for BBC World Service Trust in 2005.
Attalah was managing editor of the prior to the closure of its print edition in 2013. She is co-founder and the first chief editor of , an independent online Egyptian newspaper.
Repression
[]In 2011, Attalah was among journalists who were attacked by security forces while covering a demonstration in .
In November 2019, Attalah was briefly detained by Egyptian security services after , of which she is chief editor, published an article about plans for president 's son to be transferred from the (GIS), one of the three Egyptian intelligence services, to the and assigned to a in 2020 in response to Mahmoud's media visibility having a negative impact on president el-Sisi's image. Mada Masr member was detained for a day and a half, laptops and telephones from the Mada Masr office were confiscated, and Mada Masr staff, free lancers and guests were held incommunicado in the office for several hours by security forces.
On 18 May 2020, in what was described as a "growing crackdown on freedom of expression linked to Covid-19," Attalah was arrested outside in Cairo while interviewing the sister of detained journalist . Attalah was released on bail hours after her arrest.
Public speaker
[]Attalah is a frequent public speaker and has been invited to address 's , Storyful in Australia, the Arab Media Forum, and a host of other events.
Online media
[]Attalah is active in . She had more than 50 thousand followers on in 2022.
Recognition
[]Attalah was awarded the 2020 from the . Attalah was one of 's 100 most influential people of 2020.
Attallah was awarded with a Knight degree by the French embassy in Cairo in 2022
Personal life
[]Attalah is a .
Other sources
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