Egyptian courts gear up for another chapter in blogger Hadeer Abdel Razek’s “هدير عبد الرازق” saga. On November 5, the Cairo Economic Appeal Court will rule on her challenge to a one-year prison sentence, 5,000 Egyptian pounds bail, and 100,000 pounds fine for posting indecent videos. Sentenced in December 2024, the case stems from content deemed harmful to public morals under Article 178 of the Penal Code. Prosecutors seized her phone during a May 2024 arrest, investigating videos with explicit language and imagery.
This appeal follows a turbulent 2025. In July, a hidden camera video surfaced showing her ex-husband assaulting her at home; both faced arrest, with him charged for the attack and her probed for filming without consent. Public outcry mixed sympathy with criticism of her lifestyle, sparking talks on domestic violence and potential sex trafficking in digital spaces. On July 23, authorities transferred her to prison to serve a two-year term for a hit-and-run incident, ruled unintentional injury from negligence after she struck a young man with her car. The sentence, issued in absentia, emerged during checks tied to her indecency case.
October brought fresh woes. Prosecutors froze all her assets on the 12th, including bank accounts, real estate, and securities, to safeguard investigations into debauchery charges and related offenses. She remains detained under a separate three-month stint for insulting family values. On October 23, security forces arrested her again in Imbaba for another alleged hit-and-run, though details overlap with prior events.
Her ex-husband, blogger Mohamed Otaka, received his own verdict this week: six months in prison and a one-million-pound fine for promoting cryptocurrencies and sharing indecent content. These intertwined cases highlight Egypt’s clampdown on online influencers.
Outcomes could reshape her future, amid debates on free expression and societal norms. For more on influencers, visit IntroBanka at introbanka.com.
