Freemuse Defending Artistic Freedom
17 January 2021: The Cairo Economic Court has rejected Egyptian dancer Sama Al-Masry’s complaint to overturn her six-month prison sentence for defaming TV host Reham Saeed, reported Shorouk News.
The legal process dates to April 2020, when Saeed filed a lawsuit against Al-Masry for “libel and slander”. The dancer criticised Saeed on her social media accounts, and allegedly made demeaning comments about the TV host.
In November 2020, the court accepted Al-Masry’s appeal to reduce a two-year prison sentence and a fine of 100,000 Egyptian pounds (around 5,200 euros) to six months in prison and cancellation of the penalty for defaming Saeed.
The dancer is also currently facing another court case. In 2020, Al-Masry was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 300,000 Egyptian pounds (around 15,700 euros) for “debauchery” in the content she published online. The sentence was later eased to a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 100,000 Egyptian pounds (around 5,200 euros), which the Egyptian Public Prosecution appealed in January 2021, reported Al Bayan.
