00:00Egypt's leading independent news outlet is facing closure, while its editor Lina Atala risk going to prison.
00:07Atala said that the latest measures against Mada Masra and the detention of staff at fact-checking platform Matzadash
00:14mark a new attempt to restrict independent media.
00:17We were summoned for interrogations and swiftly referred to court and already got a verdict
00:23ordering the closure of Mada Masra, which is also one of the main independent media in Egypt.
00:28And we were also ordered to pay a fine of £3 million, the equivalent of over $50,000.
00:36Last month the court fined Atala £3 million for operating without a license.
00:42The court also ordered Mada Masra to shut down. The outlet is appealing that decision on November 25.
00:48I was very panicked. I was very scared. I don't think anybody has courage to face prison.
00:55I don't think anyone should be in prison. And I don't think this was needed, to be honest.
01:03Normally when a case entails a fine, you know, anyways, no journalist should go to prison.
01:10Atala said her trial was rushed and that she was detained in court before learning she had received a one
01:15-year prison sentence in a separate case.
01:17It seems to be the case that somewhere in the authorities' imagination silencing these media is the solution for Egypt's
01:27problems.
01:29And what we're trying to say is that it isn't, simply put.
01:33The case has drawn international criticism. Right groups say Egypt's media crackdown is unprecedented.
01:39Atala says generally she'll not be in prison and that the independent outlet must be allowed to report freely.
