Moroccan influencer “Soukaina Glamour” arrested

Moroccan authorities have arrested a controversial social media personality, Moroccan government-friendly Yabiladi reported on August 13th.

Soukaina Janah, widely recognised online as “Soukaina Glamour,” was detained on August 12 at Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca just before boarding a flight out of the country. The arrest was executed through a joint security operation between airport border police and law enforcement units from Marrakech.

Her detention stems from intense public outrage over a recent live stream. While broadcasting from her shop to showcase clothing items, parts of her body were unexpectedly exposed on camera. She appeared unbothered by the incident and chose to continue the live transmission, Yabiladi reported. 

Clips of the stream rapidly circulated across digital platforms. Cyber-monitoring units flagged the footage, prompting the public prosecutor to order a formal inquiry into charges of public indecency.

Before her arrest, Soukaina issued a formal public apology. She attempted to discredit the video, claiming that artificial intelligence tools had been used to alter the footage. She also threatened to sue anyone sharing what she termed deceptive content. However, according to Yabiladi, because a massive live audience witnessed the stream in real-time, her claims of AI manipulation faced immediate doubt.

This is not Soukaina’s first encounter with the judicial system. Between 2019 and 2021, she served a two-year prison sentence after being convicted in the notorious “Hamza mon bb” scandal. According to Medias24, the case was centred on a cyber-extortion and defamation network operating on popular social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. The network targeted celebrities, public figures, and innocent private citizens by hacking personal accounts, sharing intimate photos without consent, and blackmailing victims for large sums of money.

The official accusations made against the network include: “Participation in fraudulent access to a computer data system,” “deliberate participation in obstructing the functioning of this system, its disruption and modification of its processing method,” “dissemination of images and statements of others without their consent,” and “dissemination of false facts solely with the intent to harm individuals’ private lives and defame them,” as well as “participation and blackmail”. 

Medias24, Yabiladi, Maghrebi.org