Egypt: Lina Attalah summoned for the sixth time, on the same day Sisi claims to accept 'all criticism'

Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of the Egyptian website Mada Masr, was summoned on October 21, 2026, before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in Cairo in a new criminal case. The information was made public by Amnesty International in a statement signed by Yasmine Ahmed, the organization's regional impact director.

For Amnesty, this is the sixth legal proceeding opened in six years against Mada Masr and its journalists, and a case of judicial harassment targeting one of the country's last independent media outlets. The organization deems it "shameful," in its own words, for the authorities to target the journalist once again, and is calling for an immediate end to the proceedings against her and her team.

The October 21 summons adds to five criminal investigations still open against Attalah and members of the editorial staff. The most recent dates back to August 4, 2025: the journalist was questioned at that time regarding an article published on July 31, 2025, on detention conditions at Badr 3 prison, and was subsequently released on bail. The charges brought, according to Amnesty, were "spreading false news" and operating a website without a license. Mada Masr has been seeking this license since 2018 without success, and its website is among the hundreds of pages blocked in Egypt.

A month of pressure on the Egyptian press

The summons comes at the end of several tense weeks. Six journalists from the fact-checking site Matsadaash have been arrested and placed in pre-trial detention, according to Amnesty. A solidarity sit-in began on October 3, 2026, at the Journalists' Syndicate; on October 5, journalist Rasha Azab, who was participating, was questioned over a post criticizing the Ministry of Interior, charged with terrorism-related offenses, and released on 10,000 Egyptian pounds bail. On October 19, the journalists announced the suspension of the movement. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 18 journalists are currently imprisoned in Egypt.

Two speeches on the same day

On October 21, at the Egypt Forum 2026, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stated that his government "listens, discusses, and accepts all criticism." The summons for Lina Attalah took place on the same day.

Defending the rights of African peoples also means defending the right of citizens to know what their leaders are doing. Mada Masr, founded in 2013, has become a benchmark for independent information in Egypt and for researchers working on the country. The outcome now depends on the prosecutor's office: no hearing date or formal indictment has been made public at this stage in this new case.