Lawyer Hany Sameh, a member of the Lawyers Syndicate’s committee on freedoms who has worked on similar cases in the past, described the accusations against Elshimy as “vague”. “Arresting women and girls on very vague grounds simply for posting videos and photos of themselves on social media sites is discriminatory and directly violates their right to free expression,” Rothna Begum, a senior women’s rights researcher at HRW, wrote in a 2020 report. “Instead of tackling pervasive domestic violence, sexual harassment, and violence, Egyptian authorities appear intent on reinforcing societal discrimination by persecuting women and girls for how they appear online or what they say