An Egyptian court sentenced a number of young ladies to 2 years in jail Monday for posting “indecent” dance videos on TikTok in a fraught case that critics describe as an additional crackdown on self-expression within the conservative society.
The ladies had been additionally fined 300,000 Egyptian pounds (almost $19,000) every for “violating the values and principles of the Egyptian family,” inciting debauchery and selling human trafficking, based on an announcement from the general public prosecutor.
Their attorneys vowed to appeal the ruling.
The prosecution assertion named simply two of the defendants — 20-year-old student Haneen Hossam and 22-year-old Mawada al-Adham — and mentioned the other three helped run their social media accounts.
Both women just lately vaulted to TikTok fame, amassing millions of followers for their video snippets set to catchy Egyptian club-pop tracks. In their respective 15-second clips, the women carrying make-up pose in cars, dance in kitchens and joke in skits — familiar and seemingly tame content for the platform.
However their social media stardom turned their undoing in Egypt, where citizens can land in jail for vague crimes such as “misusing social media,” “disseminating fake news,” or “inciting debauchery and immorality.”
Eladhm’s lawyer, Ahmed el-Bahkeri, confirmed the sentencing. The prosecution deemed Eladhm’s images and videos “disgraceful and insulting.”
“Eladhm was crying in court. Two years? 300,000 Egyptian pounds? This is really something very tough to hear,” said Samar Shabana, the attorney’s assistant.
“They just want followers. They are not part of any prostitution network, and did not know this is how their message would be perceived by prosecutors,” she added, in reference to their posts encouraging young women to share videos and chat with strangers in exchange for money on another social media platform.
