Plus-size influencer Salma Elshimy jailed and fined £2,600 for posting ‘inappropriate content’ on Instagram and TikTok
A PLUS-SIZE influencer has been put behind bars for two years and fined £2,600 for sharing sexy snaps on Instagram and TikTok.
Salma El-Shimi was jailed after being found guilty of publishing “inappropriate content on social media in exchange for financial gain”.
Officials from the Financial and Commercial Affairs Prosecution organisation based in Alexandria, Egypt, ordered police to detain her.
Salma was nicked at Cairo International Airport after returning from the United Arab Emirates on April 3.
The popular plus-size model, who boasts a whopping 838,000 followers, was accused of uploading risque content to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
She regularly shares jaw-dropping snaps showing off her incredible curves in stunning outfits and tight-fitting dresses.
Hardline authorities claimed the images and videos “offended public morality and modesty.”
Salma was then convicted on charges of publishing inappropriate content and misusing social media platforms.
She was also slapped with a £2,600 penalty by the court after it was argued that her content undermined the values of Egyptian society.
Officials also confiscated her mobile phone and computers.
Investigators said the videos she had posted were improper and shared with the intention of increasing her huge follower account.
This means her online activity could therefore be classified as prostitution, as it was produced for material gain.
If prosecutors rule that Salma’s posts were enticing people into the sex industry, she could face up to three years in prison.
The curvaceous content creator previously found herself in hot water with Egyptian authorities in December 2020.
Salma was arrested after posing for a saucy photoshoot in front of the 4,700-year-old Pyramid of Djoser outside Cairo.
Her photographer was also taken into custody the following day after the stunt at the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The images sparked outrage among archeologists and officials, who slammed them as provocative and disrespectful.
The model was pictured standing in front of the Saqqara pyramid wearing a tight, white pharaonic outfit and glittering accessories.
The Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, warned anyone disrespecting ancient sites will be severely punished.
There are strict rules in place at the ancient pyramids banning indecent and offensive photographs.
Photography of the ancient ruins is banned in many cases, and careful research and planning is required for anyone hoping to snap the awe-inspiring scenes.
Salma insisted she was simply trying to promote local tourism, telling cops she was unaware she was breaking any rules.
She alleged that the police were only rattled by the photo-op because she was plus-sized, saying that a slimmer model wouldn’t have been chastised.
The influencer launched her modelling career at the age of 25, after qualifying as a nurse.
Her recent incarceration eerily echoes the case of TikTok star Haneen Hossam, 21, who was jailed in Egypt over dance videos that “incited debauchery.”
She was convicted of “human trafficking” charges and accused of exploiting girls for money through video-sharing platforms in 2021.
The content creator denied the allegations – which were linked to an invitation to her followers to get paid for making live videos.
Haneen was first arrested in April 2020 for “violating family values and principles” – after encouraging people to join another video-sharing platform, Likee.
Hossam and fellow TikTokker Mowada al-Adham were acquitted in January 2021 – but prosecutors then introduced a more serious charge of human trafficking.
In June last year, a court found them both guilty – and Hossam was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
She was later granted a retrial, where she was again found guilty and instead sentenced to three years as well as a fine of 200,000 Egyptian pounds.
The jailings are part of a worrying trend in Egypt to remove provocative content from social media channels that are seen as contradicting traditional Muslim morals.
Several belly dancers and pop singers have been targeted in recent years.