FRANCE 24 spoke to Lina Attalah, co-founder and editor of the independent Egyptian media outlet Mada Masr. In late August, the paper published a story about corruption within the ruling Nation's Future Party, which backs President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. As a result, Attalah and three of her staffers were charged with criminal offences, including "publishing false news", before being released on bail. In a country where press freedom is shrinking, independent Egyptian journalists "feel really lonely", she said.
Asked about what NGOs denounce as the West failing to press hard enough for human rights in Egypt, Atallah said that what matters is that Egyptian authorities "build their own home-grown conviction that human rights matter".
"Our presence" as independent journalists is "much better for Egypt than our absence", she concluded.
