Belly dancer Sama Al-Masri (Photo: Al-Ahram)
An Egyptian misdemeanour court sentenced on Saturday controversial Egyptian belly dancer Sama El-Masry to three years in prison and a EGP 300,000 fine after she was convicted of “inciting debauchery and immorality.”
El-Masry, detained in April, was found guilty of inciting immorality via social media through posting what authorities had described as indecent photos and videos of herself.
The sentence can still be appealed.
On 23 April, El-Masry was arrested for posting sexually suggestive videos on social media, and had her detention renewed multiple times pending investigation.
The prosecutor-general’s office said earlier it received a number of complaints from citizens over El-Masry’s posts.
El-Masry denied the charges, saying the videos had been taken from her mobile phone which was stolen in June 2019.
The controversial belly dancer, who had previously released videos online mocking the Muslim Brotherhood group during the one-year rule of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, claimed that members of the outlawed group were the ones who reported her to the prosecution over her political views.
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