An Egyptian court sentenced five influential women on social media to two years in prison each on charges of violating public morals.
The verdict against Haneen Hossam, Mowada al-Adham and three others came after having posted images on the TikTok video sharing app.
The ruling, which can be appealed, included a fine of 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($ 18,750) for each defendant, the source said.
Haneen Hossam, a 20-year-old student at Cairo University, was accused of encouraging young women to meet men through a video app and make friends with them, receiving a fee according to the number of followers who they watch these conversations.
Mawada al-Adham, an influencer from TikTok and Instagram with at least two million followers, was accused of posting indecent photos and videos on social media.
The other three women were accused of helping Hossam and Al-Adham manage their social media accounts, according to the public prosecution.
Al-Adham’s lawyer, Ahmed el-Bahkeri, confirmed the sentences and said they would appeal the verdict.
Hossam was arrested in April after posting a three-minute clip that told 1.3 million followers that the girls could earn money working with her.
In May, authorities arrested Adham who had posted satirical videos on TikTok and Instagram.
Lawyer el-Bahkeri said the girls were facing separate charges by the sources of their funds.
‘Dangerous indicator’
Internet penetration has reached over 40 percent of Egypt’s youth population of over 100 million.
“The verdict is shocking, although expected. We will see what happens on appeal,” said women’s rights lawyer Intissar al-Saeed.
“It remains a dangerous indicator … Regardless of the divergent views on the content presented by the girls on TikTok, it is still not a reason for imprisonment.”
Several human rights activists turned to social media to condemn the arrests.
A trending hashtag in Arabic that translates as “with the permission of the Egyptian family” was widely used in an online social media campaign to draw attention to the case and demanded the release of influential women.
(1) Today, you will find many tweets # بعد_اذن_الاسرة_المصرية. They started at 1 p.m. (Cairo time) and will continue throughout the day to draw attention to themselves before the 2 verdicts expected this week for 3 Egyptian TikTok users: Haneen Hosam and Mawada El-Adham (7/27) and Manar Samy (7/29) pic.twitter.com/fxoTvRewmN
– Mai El-Sadany (@maitelsadany) July 26, 2020
Two women in Egypt today were sentenced. Two years and 300,000 EGP are fine for dancing and singing in #TikTok @ncwegypt is complicit in this injustice due to its silence. This is injustice, misogyny and a serious violation of digital freedom. # بعد_اذن_الاسرة_المصرية
– يسقط العالم (@Saldroite) July 27, 2020
Did you know that Egypt still runs virginity tests? And who is chasing influential women in #TikTok instead of managing a pandemic? because chastity to all! # بعد_اذن_الاسرة_المصرية https://t.co/49dqS9XoOn
– Nana (@Nabuels) July 27, 2020
A petition was also launched on Change.org demanding the release of the influencers with more than 1500 signatures.
“We are a group of women who ask state authorities to stop attacking women at TikTok. We call on the National Council for Women to provide legal support to Haneen Hossam, Mawada El-Adham, Menna AbdelAziz, Sherry Hanem, Nora Hesham, Manar Samy, Reenad Emad, Hadeer Hady and Bassant Mohamed, “the petition said.
Egypt has cracked down on singers and dancers in recent years for online content deemed too daring or suggestive.
Last month, an Egyptian court sentenced belly dancer Sama al-Masry to three years for inciting “debauchery” on social media after posting a TikTok dance video.
In 2018, a singer was detained for “incitement to debauchery” after an online video featuring sensual dance moves went viral.
The year before, a female pop singer was sentenced to two years in prison on similar charges, also for a video deemed provocative. Her sentence was reduced to one year on appeal.
“The charges of spreading debauchery or violating family values are very flexible … and their definition is broad,” said Saeed.
In recent years, Egypt has enforced strict Internet controls through laws that allow authorities to block websites considered a threat to national security and monitor personal social media accounts with more than 5,000 followers.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
