Reduced penalties for several TikTokers including Suzy al-Ordonia

After a widely publicized trial that aimed to display her case as a general deterrent, the Economic Appeals Court reduced the sentence for TikTok creator Mariam Ayman, known online as Suzy al-Ordoniya, in its ruling on Wednesday, member of her defense team Tamer Rashad told Mada Masr on Thursday.  

Penalties against TikTokers Mohamed Shaker and Mohamed Alla — known online as Shaker Mahzour and Otaka — were also reduced or dismissed on charges brought against them in August, though both await rulings in other cases.

The three content creators were arrested in August amid a broader campaign, which was led by social media users and lawyers and saw authorities target tens of content creators, particularly women, for publishing material deemed morally offensive on TikTok and other platforms.

On Wednesday, the court upheld Ayman’s appeal, reducing the sentence issued against her in October from one year to six months, Rashad said, adding that she is yet to pay the LE100,000 fine ordered against her at the time of the trial. 

Ayman has already served nearly five of the reduced six-months sentence, her lawyer also noted, since her appearance before the court for the first time on August 3.

At the time,  the Public Prosecution published a video of its courtroom argument in Ayman’s case on its official Facebook page, where a public attorney argued that the 19-year-old creator’s case and punishment should serve as a “general deterrent” against others “tempted to commit such an obscene act,” as well as a “personal” deterrent to Ayman herself.

ِShe was convicted at the time of publishing videos deemed offensive to public morals — the same videos for which she had already been fined LE300,000 under a previous ruling issued last year, Rashad previously told Mada Masr.

This detail was echoed by Ayman’s defense team in a memorandum they shared with the court and published on Wednesday, where they argued that Ayman has already been tried on the same videos by the Matariya Misdemeanours Court in 2024.  

He added at the time that she was acquitted from the commonly used charges of violating family values.

This is not the first time the creator has been targeted by authorities this year. 

She was arrested in March and held for 15 days in remand detention on charges of joining a terrorist organization and publishing false news. The Juvenile Appeals Court also overturned a two-year prison sentence against her in January, fining her with LE300,000 instead.

Otaka’s appeal also resulted in acquittal in one case and a reduced sentence in another. 

The Economic Appeals Court acquitted Otaka in the case related to crypto-currency trading on Wednesday, his lawyer Aly al-Khouly told Mada Masr on Thursday. 

Khouly added that the creator received a reduced sentence — from six to three months — in the case related to crypto-currency exchange charges, for which he was also fined LE1 million

Otaka continues to be held in remand detention on drug trafficking charges, his lawyer noted.

Also on Wednesday, the Cairo Criminal Court released TikToker Mohamed Shaker on a LE500,000 bail amid ongoing investigations. The Prosecution then appealed his release order and detained him again on Thursday for 45 days on charges of publishing morally indecent content. 

In August, Shaker was charged with publishing immoral content and money laundering charges, as well as drug and unlicensed weapon possession charges. 

The three creators were arrested in August amid a campaign that has seen the widespread prosecution of content creators for moral infractions, an escalation of a practice that authorities began in 2020.