BAGHDAD: A court in Baghdad has sentenced two Iraqis to prison time over “indecent” videos on social media that “undermine modesty and public morality,” the judiciary said Wednesday.
The interior ministry in the largely conservative country in January formed a committee tasked with monitoring social networks for content that goes against Iraqi society’s “morals and traditions.”
The misdemeanor court has handed YouTuber Hassan Sajamah a two-year prison term, while Om Fahad, who has a following of some 23,000 users on TikTok, has been sentenced to six months, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said in a statement.
According to the statement, both are accused of sharing on social media “several videos containing indecent speech that undermines modesty and public morality.”
Sajamah was sentenced on Wednesday and Om Fahad the day before, a judicial source told AFP.
In his videos, Sajamah stopped young people on the street and asked them personal questions, like whether they had ever received gifts from romantic partners or what they seek in an ideal partner.
Om Fahad has shared videos of herself dancing to Iraqi music while wearing tight-fitting clothes.
Interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said in a televised interview on Tuesday that eight people had been detained so far over “immoral content.”
Speaking to Iraq’s Al-Rasheed network, he defended the authorities’ latest push and brushed aside claims it restricts civil liberties.
“This has nothing to do with freedom of expression,” Maan said. “These misguided people do not represent Iraqis, Iraqi women or Iraqi society.”
He called on social media users to delete their “low-brow” material as a sign of “their good faith.”
Upon announcing the monitoring committee last month, the interior ministry also launched a platform allowing users to report content to the authorities.
According to Maan, more than 50,000 reports have been made on the government platform “in just a few days.”
Iraq jails YouTuber, TikToker over ‘indecent’ videos
https://arab.news/by5zj
Iraq jails YouTuber, TikToker over ‘indecent’ videos
- In January Iraqi government formed a committee to scan social networks for content deemed “immoral” or “low-brow”
Tunisian journalist Chatha BelHajj Mubarak freed after sentence cut
- The court cut her sentence from five years to two, making her eligible for immediate release, her brother told Reuters
TUNIS: A Tunisian appeal court on Wednesday ordered the release of journalist Chatha BelHajj Mubarak, jailed since 2023 in a conspiracy case, after reducing her prison sentence, her family said.
The court cut her sentence from five years to two, making her eligible for immediate release, her brother told Reuters.
She was convicted in the so-called “Instalingo” case, which involved politicians, media figures and other defendants accused of conspiracy and financial crimes. BelHajj Mubarak denied the charges.
“Chatha is free and leaving prison,” her brother, Amen BelHajj Mubarak, said.
He said her health had severely deteriorated during her time in prison. She suffered serious complications, including significant hearing loss, and was diagnosed with cancer in detention, he added.
Tunisian authorities have said the case stems from judicial investigations into alleged financial and security-related offenses, and have rejected accusations by opposition groups that the prosecutions were politically motivated.
Tunisian prosecutors are pursuing a number of high-profile conspiracy cases involving politicians, journalists and activists. Several opposition leaders have received lengthy prison terms.
