Riham Saeed Sentenced to Prison for Defamation and Libel

Controversial TV host Riham Saeed has been sentenced to a year and a half in prison and fined 10,000 LE by a Giza misdemeanour court for defaming a sexual harassment victim and violating her privacy, reports Youm7.  

Somaya Tarek was assaulted by a man who she claims had verbally harassed her in Horreya Mall, as caught on CCTV footage. Saeed aired private photographs she had allegedly acquired from the victim’s mobile phone without her consent. One of the intimate photographs showed the victim donning a swimsuit at the beach, which prompted Saeed to conclude that Tarek was in fact ‘asking for it’, because why else would someone wear a swimsuit to the beach? "If I accept being carried like that in a bathing costume, I'm definitely going to accept anybody flirting with me," Saeed said of Tarek’s photos.

Saeed’s slut-shaming of the sexual harassment and assault victim has caused a nationwide uproar, which prompted television network Al-Nahar to suspend her controversial show Sabaya El Kheir.