Egypt’s prosecution jails belly dancer Sama el-Masry for 4 days

CAIRO – 27 April 2020: Egypt’s Prosecutor General Hamada el-Sawy ordered jailing belly dancer Sama el-Masry for four days pending investigations over publishing disgraceful photos and videos on social media platforms.

Several complaints were received by the prosecution regarding viral videos and photos for Masry, according to a Monday official statement.

The belly dancer denied all accusations regarding posting inappropriate videos or photos on social media, affirming that she is only responsible for what she posts on her official accounts.

She further explained that she has recorded some videos and kept them for herself on a mobile phone that was stolen from her in June 2019; accordingly, she is not responsible for that phone and all the data stored on it.

Masry affirmed that she doesn’t need to post such photos for fame, because she is already a celebrity. Masry also claimed that the complaints received by the prosecution could be part of a systematic campaign to discredit her, as she has many disputes over her political views.

According to the statement, Masry's testimony was contradictory; after denying she was responsibility for some of the videos, she said that these videos were edited and manipulated.

By the end of the investigation, the prosecution ordered jailing the belly dancer for four days, calling to differentiate between freedom of expression and calling for vulgarity to make money.