A court in Egypt acquitted two women who had been convicted of videos on the Tiktok social network in connection with the country’s moral laws. Mauada al-Adham and Hanin Hussam were each given two years in prison and a fine of around 16 in July. 000 Euro was convicted of “violation of family values”. An appeals court overturned the judgment, as the state news website Al-Ahram reported on Tuesday evening. Three other defendants in the same case were also acquitted.

Dancing and singing The arrest and conviction of the two young women, who have millions of fans on social networks, caused a stir. The videos show the women dancing and singing or having fun with friends. In June, a belly dancer was sentenced to three years in prison and fined for allegedly posting offensive photos and videos of herself on social media. The dancer had denied the allegations and stated that her cell phone had been stolen and that the pictures had been published without her consent.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had 2018 Let a new law on Internet crime come into force. This gave the government, which justified its actions with the fight against terrorism, even more leeway in the possible censorship of websites and content on the Internet. In Egypt 2020 more than 500 websites were blocked. Under the law, content that violates “family values ​​and values ​​upheld by Egyptian society” can be punished with a prison sentence of at least six months and a fine of at least 2600 euros .

(mho)