Egypt's last surviving free press being 'silenced': leading journalist facing jail

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

Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Cairo-based online newspaper Mada Masr, talks during an interview in Cairo on November 8, 2026.

"It's hard to separate between those two incidents," she told AFP.

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

As Egypt grapples with economic and political struggles amid regional upheaval, Attalah said there seemed to be a belief that "silencing the media is the solution to Egypt's problems".

Cairo has long been criticised 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.

Source: Citizen Digital