Prominent Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah, the head of independent media outlet Mada Masr, is set to appear in a criminal court on Wednesday, facing possible prison time in a trial that has drawn international outcry.
Attalah is being retried after she was handed a one-year prison sentence in absentia in 2024, without her knowledge, for operating a news website without a licence and "publishing false news" -- a charge commonly levelled against journalists and dissidents in Egypt.
The United Nations on Tuesday criticised what it called Egypt's "widening assaults on press freedom", including the "targeting, prosecution and harassment of independent journalists".
Atallah was only informed of the in absentia sentence last month, upon her release from detention after a rushed misdemeanour trial in a separate case with similar charges where she was fined three million Egyptian pounds (around $56,000).
Attalah's prosecution "raises fresh concerns regarding due process and fair trial", said the spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Thameen Al-Kheetan.
In the misdemeanour trial, the court also ordered the shutdown of Mada Masr, Egypt's preeminent independent media outlet, which has survived a more than decade-long crackdown on the free press.
Cairo has long been criticised for its rights record and has, over the past decade, shut down nearly all space for dissent.
