Egyptian teen's murder sparks debate over police's social media use

An Egyptian teenager was murdered this week, allegedly by her brother, after authorities posted information about retrieving her from a young man's home, sparking a debate around the appropriateness of the police force's use of social media.

Local media reported on Wednesday that Aya Radwan, 16, was killed in her hometown of Al-Saf, south of Cairo, and that her brother was in custody after allegedly murdering her "for fear of disgrace".

On Tuesday night, the Ministry of Interior had published slightly blurred photos of Radwan, including one of her standing next to a man after they were detained together.

The ministry's post mentioned Radwan's area of residence and said police had received a missing persons report from her mother.

"Investigations led to locating the missing girl... and she was apprehended. Upon questioning, she admitted to leaving her home of her own will and staying with an acquaintance," adding that "legal measures have been taken".

The post sparked criticism on social media, with users accusing the ministry's social media account of effectively stoking an "honour killing" in a patriarchal, conservative society.

On the ministry's post, one user commented that "a one-line statement would have been enough to reassure people without going into details that tarnish the girl's personality and bring shame to her family".

Mostafa Kassem, a Cairo-based lawyer, told *AFP *he was filing a complaint with the public prosecutor against the administrator of the ministry's account.

He accused the page of being complicit in Radwan's killing, and said Egypt's Criminal Procedure Code "prohibits the publication of any information regarding minors or cases of sexual violence".

The interior ministry's social media accounts post several times a day about the arrests of suspects, including minors, detailing their places of residence and the charges against them, and showing their slightly blurred faces.

Many posts say authorities launched investigations based on videos circulating on social media platforms.

Last year, Egypt's top media authority celebrated the Ministry of Interior's Facebook page being named the world's second highest-performing government account, after the White House.

"It was the police's responsibility to protect her upon her return to her family," Lobna Darwish, advocacy lead at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), told AFP.

"What happened to her after her photo was published next to a man, in a statement announcing her arrest, was not unexpected."

According to Kassem, Egypt's child protection laws should have seen Radwan placed in a government shelter before being returned to her family.

Violence against women is rampant in Egypt. The most recent state figures from 2021 show nearly a third of women have faced domestic abuse at the hands of their husbands, though data on violence by other family members is not recorded.

According to the same state survey, published in 2022, only 2 percent of familial abuse cases are recorded.