5 Facts About Iraqi TikTok Star Om Fahad Who Was Shot Dead Outside His Home

New Delhi:

Iraqi TikTok star Om Fahad was shot dead outside his Baghdad home by an unidentified assailant on Saturday. Images from surveillance cameras captured at the scene of the attack show the attacker arriving on a motorcycle near the content creator’s residence. After getting off his bike, the attacker could be seen walking towards the black SUV in which Ms Fahad was sitting.

Wearing dark clothes and a helmet, the attacker opened the door of Ms. Fahad’s vehicle and fired a few shots 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 killed there.

3. As a well-known TikToker, Ms. Fahad had nearly half a million followers. Her content often features her dancing to Iraqi music, as well as shopping and food vlogs. Some of her videos have accumulated more than a million views.

4. Last year, in February, Ms. Fahad was sentenced to six months in prison by a court. This came after the court concluded that its content contained “indecent speech that undermines public modesty and morality.”

5. Soon after, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, based in Geneva stated that he found no basis for Om Fahad’s accusation. The report also stated that its content did not exceed the limits of their rights to freedom of opinion, expression or publication.

In January 2023, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior formed a committee to uncover “inappropriate and offensive content” shared by influencers such as Om Fahad, with the aim of protecting “morals and family values” in Iraqi society. Al Jazeera revealed that the ministry also created an online platform for Iraqi users to report such content for removal. Authorities shared that the public has embraced the platform, generating 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.

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.