Egyptian Woman Jailed For Facebook Video Saying She Was Sexually Harassed

Egyptian activist Amal Fathy's Facebook video was only 12 minutes long - but that was enough to catch the attention of Egyptian authorities and earn her a two-year jail sentence for "spreading false news."

In early May, Fathy posted a video to Facebook that described how she had been sexually harassed at a bank. She also criticized living conditions in Egypt more generally and discussed issues of sexual harassment at-large, claiming the government didn't do enough to protect women from this type of aggressive behavior.

The video circulated widely online and was picked up by some media outlets. Days later, police arrived at her house to arrest her. Since then she has spent more than 140 days in prison, and allegations against her have grown to include claims she belongs to a terrorist organization. Reuters reported she was a member of the April 6 youth movement, an activist group that is now banned.

On Saturday an Egyptian court handed down a two-year jail sentence and a fine of around $560. Her bail, which Amnesty International said in a statement would temporarily suspend the sentence, was posted at around $1,120. Saturday's sentencing was over charges she spread false news that authorities determined was damaging to Egypt's national security. Other charges are still pending.

"This is injustice, unjustified and incomprehensible," Reuters quoted her husband, Mohamed Lotfy, as saying. "We have provided all the evidence to prove that she didn't spread false news."

"When a woman is subjected to sexual harassment and gets sentenced to two years and fined, then this means we are telling all Egyptian women 'shut your mouths ... if you don't want to go to prison'," Lotfy said. He is a human rights activist and currently serves as director of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms.

Lotfy previously worked for Amnesty, and in a personal statement published to the rights group's website in August, he wrote that his wife's arrest "shocked and gutted" him.

He said that though she was originally granted bail in the Facebook video case, she was then held in pre-trial detention for a number of other charges, including "intentionally disseminating false news that could harm public security and interest." She was also accused of "using a website to promote ideas calling for terrorist acts."

"Instead of prosecuting perpetrators of violence against women, the Egyptian authorities are persecuting Amal Fathy for speaking out against sexual harassment," Amnesty International said in a statement in August, when they called on Egyptian authorities to release her and drop the charges. 

"It is a shocking case of injustice." 

Sexual harassment is widespread in Egypt. A 2013 United Nations study found that 99 percent of Egyptian women reported having experienced sexual harassment. This summer, Egypt tightened laws around Internet use in the country, which include supervision for certain social media accounts.

On Friday, United Nations human rights experts raised alarm over Fathy's case, saying in a statement that she is "reportedly suffering from acute stress as a result of her prolonged detention and was diagnosed with paralysis in July."

Amnesty International said in a statement that it had "found that it (Fathy's Facebook post) does not contain incitement of any form, and as such is protected a freedom of expression." The group called Fathy's sentence "disgraceful" and "an outrageous case of injustice."