Egyptian social media influencers sentenced to two years behind bars over ‘indecent’ dance videos on TikTok

A group of social media stars in Egypt have been sentenced to two years behind bars for sharing dance videos to TikTok that the court deemed to be “indecent.”

Haneen Hossam, Mowada al-Adham and three other women, who were not identified, were found guilty on Monday for “violating the values and principles of the Egyptian family,” inciting debauchery and promoting human trafficking, according to a statement from the public prosecutor.

The ruling, which can be appealed, also comes with a fine of nearly $19,000.

Both Hossam and al-Adham shot to online fame by sharing short clips of themselves singing and dancing along to Egyptian club-pop tracks. Sometimes they pose in front of cars with full faces of makeup while other videos see them perform skits and crack jokes.

Hossam, a 20-year-old Cairo University student with nearly a million TikTok and Instagram followers, was arrested in April for posting a clip in which she talked about paying girls in exchange for help broadcasting videos, according to the South China Morning Post. Authorities claimed post was encouraging young women to sell sex online.

Adham, who has at least two million followers, was arrested the following month after she posted satirical videos on TikTok and Instagram. Her lawyer, Ahmed el-Bahkeri, told reporters his client cried when she learned the verdict.

“Adham 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 confirmed.

“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.”

The unnamed women were allegedly involved with running the social media accounts behind the scenes.

While most of their content could be considered tame in comparison to the rest of the videos on the platform, but in Egypt, it’s not uncommon to land in jail for crimes as vague such as “misusing social media.”

Though the nation remains more liberal than Gulf Arab states, where a conservative crackdown has sparked backlash aimed at belly dancers, pop divas and social media influencers.

A widely circulated online petition described the ”moral issue” arrests as a “systematic crackdown that targets low-income women,” and urged authorities to free the nine young women detained in recent months for posting TikTok videos. Monday’s sentencing was the first.

With News Wire Services