TikTok girl's detention brings Egyptian human rights into spotlight
The continued detention of Haneen Hossam, a TikTok influencer, on a new charge of "human trafficking" has raised concern among rights advocates, bringing Egypt's human rights under scrutiny once again.
A little over three months after her acquittal by a Cairo Economic Appeals Court in a high profile morality case, TikTok influencer Haneen Hossam remains behind bars pending an investigation over "human trafficking" charges in a new case.
Hossam, a Cairo University student who had 1.2 million followers on the video-sharing social media platform, was ordered released on a bail of 5,000 Egyptian pounds (about $319) in January after a Cairo Appeals Court overturned her previous two-year sentence on the charge of "violating family values" and running social media accounts to commit her "crimes." But two days after her acquittal, prosecutors ordered her detained once again on a new and even more serious charge of human trafficking.
Hossam was arrested on April 21 last year along with four other young women, including Mawada El Adham, another prominent TikTok influencer who has remained in jail since and, like Hossam, also faces charges of human trafficking. The "TikTok girls," as they have been referred to by some media, had gained a massive following by publishing short video clips on the China-based social networking app that showed them lip-syncing to popular Arabic songs and dancing.
Their detention came amid a wave of arrests and detentions targeting female social media influencers, singers and artists, including Egyptian belly dancer Sama El Masry who was also sentenced to three years in prison in June after a Cairo Misdemeanor Court found her guilty of "inciting debauchery." The charge was in relation to "suggestive" photographs she published on her social media accounts that portrayed her in "revealing clothes," according to prosecutors.
