Aida Alami

The court has suspended the session in which Mada Masr Editor-in-Chief Lina Attalah’s first hearing on charges of managing an unlicensed website is taking place, with proceedings set to resume later today. The session’s suspension came after the judge had requested during proceedings that the defense counsel review the case file while the session was ongoing. The counsel refused the request, asking that they be given sufficient time to review the case documents. The judge repeated his request that they review the case file during the session, saying that “the case is simple” and that the charge is the straightforward question of managing a website without a license. The session is being held at the ninth circuit of the New Cairo Misdemeanor Court, presided over by judge Mohamed Mubarak. At the start of the session, after the judge presented to Attalah the Supreme State Security Prosecution’s charges, he asked the editor-in-chief if the website was unlicensed at the time of the prosecution’s investigations on October 21. She responded by stressing that she had applied for a license and never received a response. Before the session began, journalists present at the courthouse were barred from entering to attend the trial, among them Iman Ouf, the Journalists Syndicate’s Freedoms Committee head. Court security asked the journalists gathered outside to hand over their syndicate membership cards, saying the presiding judge wanted to check on those present “name by name.” They later returned the cards without letting anyone in. Mada Masr’s defense lawyers had asked the judge for full access to evidence in the case, including the facts of the licensing procedures and related notifications, details of the charges Attalah is accused of and the time period over which it is alleged that the crime took place, as well as access to all documentation regarding Mada Masr’s licensing application held by the Supreme Media Regulatory Council.