A popular Egyptian belly dancer Sama el-Masry has been sentenced to 3 years in prison and fined 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($18,500) for inciting debauchery and immorality as part of a crackdown on social media postings.

El-Masry was also fined 300,000 Egyptian pounds, or $18,500

El-Masry was arrested in April during an investigation into videos and photos on social media, including the popular video-sharing platform TikTok, that the public prosecution described as sexually suggestive.

The dancer, 42, denied the accusations, saying the content was stolen and shared from her phone without consent.

She had violated family principles and values in Egypt, as well as establishing, managing and using sites and accounts on social media with the aim of committing immorality.

Cairo’s Misdemeanours Economic Court

Talaat told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that El-Masry and the other female social media influencers were destroying family values and traditions, activities that were banned by the law and the constitution.

There is a huge difference between freedom and debauchery. Those influencers were expected to face the same prison terms as el-Masry as they had committed the same crime.

John Talaat

Several women in Egypt have previously been accused of inciting debauchery by challenging the country’s conservative social norms, including actress Rania Youssef after critics took against her choice of dress for the Cairo Film Festival in 2018.

El-Masry said she would appeal

In 2018, Egypt adopted a cyber crime law that grants the government full authority to censor the internet and exercise communication surveillance.

The law carries penalties of imprisonment of two years minimum and a fine of up to 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($18,500).

A group of female TikTok and Instagram influencers and YouTubers have been arrested by the Egyptian authorities in recent months on charges of promoting debauchery and prostitution on social media.

The Egyptian government was not available for immediate comment.

Entessar el-Saeed, a women rights lawyer and head of the Cairo Center for Development and Law, said women are the only category targeted by the authorities according to this law.

Our conservative society is struggling with technological changes which have created a completely different environment and mindsets.

Entessar el-Saeed

Source: Al Jazeera