CAIRO – An Egyptian court overturned the sentences of two young women who were convicted and arrested last year on charges of “violating family values” and “inciting debauchery” after they gained fame on TikTok, according to state media.
The case attracted widespread attention when Egyptian prosecutors fought a long legal battle last year against what they considered public immorality on social media.
The two women were among a handful of social media influencers, including a pop star and a belly dancer, who have been investigated for their posts in recent years. As their followers on social media and, in some cases, the income earned through videos increased, young influencers faced a conservative reaction in a country where advocates and activist promoters take responsibility for enforcing strict social norms for women.
The women, Haneen Hossam and Mawada el-Adham, were 20 and 22 when they were sentenced and sentenced in July to two years in prison. They became stars on TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms with fun videos that they posted dancing, dubbing and singing.
Egyptians trapped at home during the coronavirus blockade loved it, and women have accumulated millions of followers. But, compared to other social media posts in Egypt and the West, the videos looked harmless; Mrs. Hossam usually appeared with a scarf on her head.
But prosecutors accused women of “indecent” activity, based on a clip that Hossam posted on Instagram in which he encouraged followers to try to get into the game of social media influencers by posting videos of themselves on the Likee app, which pays creators based on the number of views they get.
Prosecutors accused Hossam of instigating young women to sell sex through the app and human trafficking. The women denied the charges against them.
Advocates for women, including digital rights activists, said their middle-class and working-class backgrounds make them more vulnerable to accusations of indecency than wealthier Egyptian women, who are subject to less moral scrutiny.
According to the new decision, women should be released from prison, but it was not clear whether they had already been released.
Although the court revoked the prison sentences for both women, it maintained a fine of around $ 19,000 for Mrs. El-Adham.
Three other defendants convicted on charges of helping women escape from prison and conceal their alleged crimes also gained their resources on Tuesday, according to Al-Ahram, a state news agency.