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The dancer was sentenced at a time when Egyptian authorities were aggressively cracking down on her posting-posting on social media with negative content.
El-Masry was arrested in April when authorities investigated videos and photos on social media, including platform share the popular TikTok video. The prosecutor described the TikTok El-Masry video as sexually suggestive.
The 42-year-old dancer denies the accusation. He said the content was stolen from his cellphone and shared without his consent.
Cairo’s Light Criminal Economic Court on Saturday said the defendant had violated the principles and values of the family in Egypt, as well as establishing, managing and using sites and accounts on social media with the aim of committing “immorality”.
“There is a big difference between freedom and debauchery,” said John Talaat, a member of parliament who requested legal action against el-Masry and other TikTok users. (Read: Egyptian Religious Authority: Haram Belly Dance Competition)
Talaat told Thomson Reuters Foundation that el-Masry and other social media influencers women are destroying Egyptian family values and traditions. According to him, their activities are prohibited by law and the constitution.
El-Masry said he would appeal the sentence of three years in prison and a fine.
Some women in Egypt have previously been accused of inciting orgies by challenging the country’s conservative social norms, including actress Rania Youssef. He was criticized for his choice of clothes for the Cairo Film Festival in 2018.
In 2018, Egypt adopted a cyberspace crime law that gave the government full authority to censor the internet and monitor communications.
The law carries a prison sentence of at least two years and a fine of up to 300,000 Egyptian pounds (USD18,500).
Talaat said para influence it faces the same prison sentence as el-Masry because they have committed the same crime.
The Egyptian government is not yet ready to comment on these cases.
Entessar el-Saeed, a women’s rights attorney and head of the Cairo Center for Law and Development, said women were the only category targeted by the authorities under the law.
“Our conservative society is struggling with technological change that has created a very different environment and mindset,” he told Thomson Reuters Foundation as reported on Monday (6/29/2020).
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