A court in Egypt has convicted five young women to two years in prison for posting “indecent videos” on TikTok. The women were fined approximately $19,000.
The jail sentences are the first to have been issued by a court as part of a campaign by the authorities against social media influencers.
Activists have risen an online campaign in response, asking the release of those arrested.
“The Economic Court in Cairo sentenced Mawada al-Adham and Haneen Hossam and three others to two years in prison and fined them 300,000 Egyptian pounds each,” the state-owned website al-Ahram reported.
“They are accused of violating the values and principles of Egyptian society and posting indecent photos and videos disturbing to public morals,” al-Ahram added.
The three women who were not named were also indicted for taking part in inappropriate video calls with men.
They have been charged with inciting “debauchery” and “immorality” with the content they post on the video-sharing platform, although it is not always clear which videos and photos are of concern to the authorities, correspondents say.
Under Egyptian law, the charge of “inciting debauchery” is used against a range of offences.
The public prosecutor’s office often determines the charge as something that is “against Egyptian society’s traditions and morals”.
BBC
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