An Iraqi TikTok star, popularly known to hundreds of thousands of online followers as Om Fahad, has been shot dead. According to report, the TikToker was murdered in a late-night attack outside her home in eastern Baghdad’s Zayouna district.
According to Al Jazeera, the incident was captured by a surveillance camera on Friday. The camera footage showed a lone assailant wearing dark clothing and a helmet getting off a motorcycle. He walked towards a black SUV and shot Om Fahad, who was sitting inside.
However, the Ministry of Interior said it had set up a team to investigate the circumstances of the killing.
“Om Fahad, whose real name is Ghufran Sawadi, was popular on TikTok. She had nearly half a million followers for sharing videos of herself dancing to pop music.
Al Jazeera reported that in February 2023, Fahad had been sentenced to six months in prison. The court had determined that her videos contained “indecent speech that undermines modesty and public morality.” However, some of her videos generated more than one million views.
“Five more online content creators also received prison terms ranging up to two years at the time. And investigations were launched against others,” Al Jazeera said.
“This came after the Iraqi Interior Ministry in January 2023 launched a committee to discover “obscene and degrading content” posted online by influencers like Om Fahad. The Minister stated that the effort was to safeguard “morals and family traditions” in Iraqi society.
The Government also created an online platform where Iraqi users were encouraged to report any such content to be taken down. Authorities claimed at the time that the public welcomed the platform and tens of thousands of reports were registered by the public, Al Jazeera stated.
The report maintained that some online content creators were forced to apologize and take down some of their content after the crackdown by the ministry.
Recall that the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in a report last year that it found no grounds for indictment of Om Fahad. It stated that her content did not exceed the limits of her rights to freedom of opinion, expression or publication.
The independent organization had expressed concern that “this campaign may extend to restricting public freedoms in the country. It said the campaign will criminalize individuals’ criticism of officials or state institutions and legitimize the trial of political activists”.
“Om Fahad is not the first Iraqi influencer to be shot amid the rising crackdown on online freedoms.”
“Noor Alsaffar, a 23-year-old TikToker with hundreds of thousands of followers, was shot dead in September 2023. Tara Fares, a 22-year-old model and influencer, was shot dead by gunmen in 2018,” Al Jazeera stated.
“Iraq has also seen a number of so-called “honour killings”, with 22-year-old YouTube star Tiba al-Ali strangled by her father last January.
Source: Al Jazeera and News Agencies
