#JusticeForMona

A Lebanese woman Mona Al-Mazbouh posted a video on her Facebook account recounting a verbal sexual harassment incident she experienced while on vacation in Cairo.

The Egyptian Misdemeanor Court sentenced her on Saturday to 8 years in prison, after accusing her of offending Egyptians and cursing the country through the video that went viral on social media.

The arresting of the Lebanese woman came in line with an official complaint issued by lawyer Amr Abdel Salam accusing Al-Mazbouh with insulting Egyptians, the state and the president, since her video included foul language.
Lawyer Amr Abdel Salam told BBC Trending that Mona’s actions are considered a crime of slander and libel according to the Egyptian penal code, articles from 302 to 308, and its penalty is a jail sentence and a financial penalty.

Before being arrested on Tuesday, Al-Mazbouh posted a more apologetic video to her Facebook account.

“I definitely didn’t mean to offend all Egyptians, and I never meant to say anything about the country’s political affairs,” Al-Mazbouh stated in her second video. She added that most of her first video was narrated in a Lebanese accent, and that is why most Egyptians didn’t understand what she was saying correctly. She also denied claims that she was paid to record the video.

“I love all Egyptians and I love this country, that’s why I visited it more than once and I keep coming back,” Al-Mazbouh concluded.

We want justice for Mona and for all the rest of women victims of sexual harassment. We want them free to express themselves. We want that their voices are no longer covered by institutionalized misogyny.
Let's show how the voice of the public matters, let's all sign against the sentence of Mona Al-Mazbouh, and let's all sign so that women, no matter where she lives in the world, have the right to denounce sexual harassment without having to be imprisoned for it.