Authorities in Egypt have charged four journalists from the independent media outlet Mada Masr, including its editor-in-chief, Lina Atala, for an article about the pro-government Future of the Nation party in which she pointed to the existence of an investigation implicating several senior members of the party in financial irregularities.
The media itself has indicated that the defendants are Atala, Rana Mamdu, Sara Seifedin and Bisan Kasab, who were released on bail on Wednesday after being interrogated by the Egyptian Public Prosecutor's Office. They have all been charged with defaming party members, using social media to harass party members and "publishing false news" to disturb social peace and harm public interests.
Atala has also been charged for operating a website without a license, after Mada Masr has been unsuccessfully trying to obtain one since 2018 under the new law regulating the operation of the press in the African country. The media outlet has highlighted that it has sent the papers "on multiple occasions", without the authorities responding to these requests to regularize its situation.
The editor-in-chief of the newspaper was released after paying a bail of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (about 1,035 euros), while the other three journalists were released on bail of 5,000 pounds (about 260 euros). All four were summoned to testify on Tuesday following a series of lawsuits filed by parliamentarians and members of the Future of the Nation party, which backs President Abdelfatá al Sisi.
The party issued a statement following the article in which it accused Mada Masr of "employing dubious and unprofessional tactics to destabilize the country's security" and announced that it would take legal action to obtain "compensation" for "damages suffered by party members."
Mada Masr is one of the few Egyptian media not yet under direct control or influenced by the authorities, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF). In fact, its website has remained blocked in Egypt since 2017, while at least 23 journalists are currently detained in the African country, half of them awaiting trial.
RSF has highlighted that almost all of the detained journalists are accused of "spreading false news", among other charges. Al Sisi has been accused on numerous occasions of limiting freedom of expression and press freedom since he came to power following a coup d'état in June 2014, when he overthrew the then president, the Islamist Mohamed Mursi, who had become the first and only elected president in Egypt following the elections held after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak during the 'Arab Spring'.