Egyptian security forces have detained Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of the independent news site Mada Masr, after a court fined her and ordered the site closed, Africanews reports.
Following a single hearing on Tuesday, a misdemeanour court fined Attalah about €850 for running the website without a licence. Mada Masr said security personnel then lifted her off the ground and carried her from the courtroom, and that she was being held at the courthouse. Hossam Bahgat of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the ruling was delivered amid protests from defence lawyers.
Rights groups called the trial a dangerous escalation in Egypt's press crackdown. It is the sixth legal case against Attalah and the outlet in six years, but the first to reach trial. The rights group says 26 journalists are currently detained in Egypt over their work.
Source: Africanews
