A popular belly-dancer has been sentenced to three years in prison and slapped with a $18,500 after being found guilty by Egyptian courts of feeding "immorality" on social media.
On Saturday, Sama el-Masry was ordered to pay 300,000 Egyptian pounds as the nation clamps down on certain content shared to social media, The Independent reports.
The 42-year-old was arrested back in April following an investigation into pictures and videos that have been uploaded to social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Per Insider, public prosecution had deemed el-Masry's content to be sexually suggestive
El-Masry - who boasts over 3 million followers on Instagram - has denied the allegations and said the content in question was stolen last year and shared without her consent.
Cairo's Misdemeanours Economic Court said el-Masry had violated family principles and values, as well as using her social media accounts with the aim of committing "immorality".
John Talaat, a member of parliament who had requested legal action against el-Masry and other female TikTokers, told those accused: "There is a huge difference between freedom and debauchery."
In 2018, Egypt introduced a cybercrime law that allowed the government to censor the internet and conduct surveillance of communications. The law carries penalties of imprisonment for a minimum of two years and a fine of up to 300,000 Egyptian pounds.
In recent months, several female TikTok and Instagram influencers and YouTubers have been arrested by the Egyptian authorities on charges of promoting debauchery and prostitution on social media.
Per the Telegraph, Mr Talaat said that the other influencers currently on trial are expected to receive the same prison terms as El-Masry, as they had committed the same crime.
However, women's rights lawyer Entessar el-Saeed, who is also the head of the Cairo Center for Development and Law, has spoken out and said that it is only women who have been targeted by the authorities according to this law.
El-Masry has confirmed that she will be appealing the ruling.
