A COURT in Egypt has sentenced five young women to two years in prison for posting “indecent videos” on the video-sharing app TikTok.
According to a report by news broadcaster BBC, they were also fined almost US$19,000 each.
The jail sentences are the first to be issued by an Egyptian court as part of a campaign by the authorities to crack down on social media influencers who post indecent content.
The influencers were sentenced on charges of violating public morals, values and principles of Egyptian society and posting indecent photos and videos.
According to a Monday report by the Guardian, Haneen Hossam was arrested in April after posting a three-minute clip telling her 1.3 million followers that girls could make money by working with her.
Authorities arrested Mowada Adham in May. She had posted satirical videos on TikTok and Instagram, where she has at least two million followers, writes the Guardian.
In response to the court’s decision, activists have mounted an online campaign, demanding the release of three detainees.
Women’s rights lawyer Intissar al-Saeed said: “The verdict is shocking, though it was expected. We will see what happens on appeal.”
“It is still a dangerous indicator. Regardless of the divergent views on the content presented by the girls on TikTok, it still is not a reason for imprisonment”, the Guardian quoted al-Saeed as saying.
The Guardian reports that in recent years, Egypt has enforced strict internet controls through laws that allow authorities to block websites deemed a threat to national security. It also allows the monitoring of personal social media accounts where a person has more than 5,000 followers.
