Egypt: 3 Madr Masr journalists face trial for ‘offending MPs’

Three Mada Masr journalists are set to face trial early this month on charges of “offending MPs” and “misusing communications channels.”

In late August the three journalists reported on gross financial misconduct among members of the Nation’s Future Party which provoked hundreds of complaints by politicians. The Nation’s Future Party controls most of the seats in the House of Representatives and backs President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

The three journalists could be sentenced to between six months and two years in prison and fined between 50,000 and 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,633 – $9,795).

3 brave and talented women journalists indicted in Egypt and facing imprisonment for doing their job. Just as UN Human Rights Council session begins in Geneva. This here is the cost of complicity https://t.co/kZn233bqw2

— hossam bahgat حسام بهجت (@hossambahgat) February 28, 2023

According to Madr Masr, one of the complaints against the journalists accused them of offending national leaders, which could “undermine internal stability” and “impact the internal peace of the nation.”

Madr Masr’s Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah has said that the charges are an attack on press freedom.

READ: UN rights committee to examine Egypt’s human rights record

The trial coincides with a two-day session at the UN to examine the Egyptian government’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Earlier this week, seven human rights organisations sent a letter to the Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the UNHCR to say that human rights in the country has deteriorated and that there is an increased risk of reprisals to dissidents post COP27.

Reporters Without Borders has said that Egypt is one of the world’s top jailers for journalists with independent media censored and targeted by prosecutors.  In December 2022 the Committee to Protect Journalists estimated that there are at least 21 in prison.

Virtually all media is under state control, the secret services or a handful of wealthy businessmen.

Media which does not conform to state narratives has been blocked, including Madr Masr, which cannot be accessed from inside Egypt.

Some 600 websites have been blocked in Egypt since the government started a wave of website blocking in 2017.