Famous Iraqi TikToker, Ghufran Sawadi, was shot dead by an unknown person right outside his home in Baghdad.
A gunman riding a motorbike shot Sawadi in Zayouna district, east of Baghdad on the evening of April 26, killing her on the spot. Iraq’s Interior Minister announced that he is forming a specialized team to investigate “the murder of a famous woman on social networks by an unknown attacker”.
An Iraqi security official said the attacker opened fire while Sawadi was parked in front of her house, then took her phone and fled the scene. The attacker appeared to be posing as a food delivery worker.
Sawadi’s neighbor ran into the street after hearing two shots and saw “the car door open, the victim slumped over the steering wheel.” “The woman in the car escaped, then security forces arrived and blocked the entire area, taking her body and car away,” this person said.
Famous Iraqi TikToker Ghufran Sawadi. Image: AFP
Sawadi is famous on the social network TikTok, where she shares videos of herself wearing figure-hugging outfits and dancing to pop music. These videos were deemed inappropriate by Iraqi courts. In February 2023, she was sentenced to 6 months in prison for “producing and posting films and videos containing vulgar and obscene language, violating ethics and decency”.
Several famous people on the social network TikTok in Iraq have been targets of deadly attacks. Most recently, famous TikToker Noor Alsaffar was shot dead in Baghdad in September 2023.
Alsaffar, who has more than 370,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, previously posted short videos about fashion, hair, makeup and dancing to music.
The Iraqi government last year launched a campaign to clean up content on social networks. The Ministry of Interior has established a committee to review content that violates Iraqi “morals and traditions” on TikTok, YouTube and other platforms. According to officials, several influential people have since been arrested.
Huyen Le (According to CNN, Time, AFP)
