Tiktok influencer to appeal 10-year trafficking sentence in Cairo

CAIRO, EGYPT | A top Egyptian Tiktok influencer will appeal a 10-year prison sentence after being found guilty of human trafficking, in the latest twist that would see the victim exhaust all possible channels for justice in the northern African nation.

Haneen Hossam, 20, has been battling with authorities in Cairo after being found guilty by the courts and will also have the part with $13,000 as acceptable, Reuters reported, for encouraging women to share footage on the video-sharing app in exchange for money.

"We will demand the restoration of the case proceedings because there are contradictions between the verdict and the merits on which the court's decision is based," said lawyer Hani Sameh.

"We hope that she can get a reduced jail sentence or an acquittal," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

For years, several women have been an onslaught of "inciting debauchery" for challenging the country's social values through the use of the new media. Egypt is primarily a conservative Islamic country that has a few Christians.

On her Tiktok, she has about 7 million followers, and she was among five Egyptian social media influencers who were sentenced to two years in jail in July 2020 for promoting immorality by encouraging women to make money through social media followings.

The other four group members were Mawaddah Al-Adham, who was found guilty of sharing "indecent" photos and videos with her 1 million Instagram followers, and three men who were found guilty of helping the two women.

An appeal court overturned the ruling in January but introduced new charges of human trafficking. The five accused were released in February after spending eight months in jail.

In an exciting twist, the five were found guilty of human trafficking and subsequently fined $13,000. Hossam was given the longest prison sentence – 10 years – with Al-Adham and the three men only ordered to serve six years.

"The ruling is harsh and exaggerated," said Reda Eldanbouki, executive director of the Women's Center for Guidance and Legal Awareness.

"Such a verdict restricts the right to freedom of opinion and expression and aims to control women's bodies and impose guardianship over their actions," he said.

Women rights activist Entessar el-Saeed who is also the head of the Cairo Foundation for Development and Law said authorities were unfairly singling out women – not men – in their efforts to "safeguard" family values.

"We can see other videos and posts on social media by men justifying marital rape but with no reaction against them. Doesn't that violate family values?" El-Saeed asked.

GAROWE ONLINE