New Delhi:
Iraqi TikTok star Om Fahad was shot dead outside her home in Baghdad on Saturday by an unknown assailant. Surveillance camera footage captured from the scene of the attack shows the attacker arriving near the content creator's home on a motorcycle. After getting off his bike, the attacker is seen walking towards the black SUV in which Ms Fahad was sitting.
Wearing dark clothing and a helmet, the attacker pulled open the door of Ms Fahad's vehicle and fired several bullets at her.
Here are some facts about Om Fahad:
1. Om Fahad's real name is Ghufran Sawadi.
2. She lived in the Zoyouna district in eastern Baghdad and was murdered there.
3. As a famous TikToker, Ms. Fahad had almost half a million followers. Her content usually included her dancing to Iraqi music, as well as shopping and food vlogs. Some of her videos have been viewed more than a million times.
4. Last February, Ms Fahad was sentenced by a court to six months in prison. This was after the court found that its content contained “indecent statements that undermine modesty and public morality.”
5. Shortly afterwards, the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor stated that it found no grounds for the charges against Om Fahad. The report also claimed that her content did not exceed the limits of her right to freedom of opinion, expression or publication.
In January 2023, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior formed a committee to expose “inappropriate and offensive content” shared by influencers like Om Fahad, with the aim of protecting “morals and family values” in Iraqi society. Al Jazeera revealed that the ministry has also set up an online platform for Iraqi users to report such content for removal. Officials shared that the public embraced the platform, leading to tens of thousands of reports. As a result, several online content creators were forced to apologize and remove certain content following the ministry's crackdown.
Ms Fahad is not the first Iraqi influencer to be shot amid the growing crackdown on online freedom. Her murder comes almost a year after the murder of 23-year-old TikToker Noor Alsaffar.