Egyptian Public Prosecution building.
The prosecution said the videos, published on Instagram, contained unsubstantiated allegations against a faculty member at the law school of an unnamed private university and were considered capable of disturbing public order and causing panic.
The case comes amid heightened official scrutiny of misinformation and social media content in Egypt, where authorities have repeatedly warned against publishing unverified allegations that could harm individuals or institutions or trigger public unrest.
According to a prosecution statement, the Public Prosecution’s media centre monitored an Instagram account that posted two videos in which the defendant claimed the alleged crimes had taken place and said he had received testimonies from female students and graduates supporting the accusations.
Investigators later questioned several officials from the university’s law faculty, who said the defendant had published the allegations through his personal social media accounts as part of what they described as an organized campaign to defame the faculty and its academic staff.
The dean of the faculty told prosecutors that the university had received no formal complaints regarding the allegations, despite publicly urging students to report any relevant information they might have.
The prosecution also heard testimony from two faculty members who accused the defendant of defaming them in the videos without evidence.
Several female graduates interviewed by prosecutors said the videos had caused fear and anxiety among former students and that their communications with the defendant showed the allegations were unsupported by evidence. They added that he had continued asking followers for information after publishing the accusations.
Police investigations concluded that the allegations circulated by the defendant were false and that he had intentionally published them from outside Egypt as part of a coordinated campaign targeting the faculty and its staff members, according to the prosecution statement.
The prosecution also reviewed forensic technical reports confirming the authenticity of the videos and attributing them to the defendant. Prosecutors said one of the videos showed the defendant acknowledging that he had deliberately raised the issue publicly, leveraging his large social media following, while asking viewers to send him more information.
The investigation concluded without any alleged victim filing an official complaint with the Public Prosecution regarding the accusations raised in the videos, despite an earlier public statement urging anyone with relevant information to come forward and assuring that victims’ identities in such cases would remain legally protected and confidential.
The Public Prosecution subsequently ordered the defendant to stand criminal trial.
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