Amnesty International said the verdict against Attalah and independent outlet Mada Masr represented "a crushing blow to press freedom". Editor Lina Attalah was freed once a $53,400 fine was paid, only to learn of a one-year sentence passed in her absence. Egyptian security forces detained prominent Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah, the chief editor of leading independent news website Mada Masr, after her trial hearing on Tuesday (October 27, 2026),.