The lawyer of Haneen Hossam, the 20-year-old social media influencer who was sentenced to ten years in prison last year has revealed that the sentence has been reduced to three years after a retrial of the case.
The Egyptian social media influencer, Haneen Hossam, was charged with “human trafficking” last year.
The reduction came after her case returned to court under a routine process because she was no longer in absentia.
Her sentence, against which she can still appeal, has therefore been “reduced”, her lawyer Hussein al-Baqar revealed in a tweet, saying that with 21 months already spent behind bars, his client could “consider her new sentence as an acquittal”.
Haneen Hossam, the TikTok influencer who is in her early 20s, was accused of exploiting girls for money through video-sharing platforms by inviting her followers to get paid for making live videos.
She however denied the charge but was convicted with a ten-year prison sentence in absentia in June last year.
Censorship of freedom of expression is gaining ground in Egypt. Amnesty International reports that social media influencers Hanin Hossam and Mawada el-Adham were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms by Cairo’s Criminal Court on 20 June for inciting “indecent” content, human trafficking and other offences. Amnesty International believes that young women are being punished for the way they dance, talk, dress and attempt to “influence” the public on social media and calls for their immediate release.
In reaction to the retrial verdict, Hossam’s lawyer, Mai el-Sadany tweeted again – “What does it mean for an Egyptian court to convict on “human trafficking” charges? It means that the justice system is criminalizing what influencers globally do every day when they invite others to work with them and monetize TikTok activity”
“The justice system is criminalizing what all influencers do every day: invite others to work with them to monetize their business on TikTok.”