An Egyptian belly dancer has been jailed for three years and fined the equivalent of £15,000 for inciting debauchery and immorality.
El-Masry was arrested in April after the Egyptian government launched a crackdown on social media, including Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok. The crackdown was launched to curb the postings of content which the public prosecution described as sexually suggestive.
Sama El-Masry, 42, rejected the accusations, saying the content was stolen and shared on social media from her phone without her permission.
While announcing the verdict, a court in Cairo found El-Masry guilty of violating 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”
“There is a huge difference between freedom and debauchery,” said John Talaat, a member of parliament who asked for legal action against el-Masry and other female participants of social media.
El-Masry said she would appeal the verdict.
