TikTok Star Shot Dead in His Own House in Baghdad An Iraqi TikTok star known to his followers as Om Fahad was shot dead near his home in Baghdad, Iraq. According to international media citing local police officials, an assailant on a motorcycle approached Fahad in a black SUV on Friday night, whose legal name is Gufran Sawadi.
In CCTV camera footage broadcast by Iraqi TV, the assailant can be seen shooting inside the car before fleeing. Iraq’s Ministry of Interior has said that a team has been prepared to investigate the murder case. So far, no suspect involved in the incident has been arrested.
Fahad was popular on TikTok for posting videos of herself dancing to Iraqi music and showing her daily life. He has 5 million followers on his TikTok account.
Last year, the Iraqi government launched a campaign to clean up social media targeting content that violates morals and traditions. A committee was formed to scan social media for clips it found objectionable. Similarly, the government created an online platform called Balgh, where users can report content that needs to be removed.
Fahad was one of six Iraqi content creators sentenced last year to prison terms ranging from six months to two years for offending morals and public decency. The administration there also started an investigation on eight other creators. Some were forced to apologize and their content was removed.
A report by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, a non-profit organization based in Geneva, found that the allegations in the trial were vague and that the prosecution had no basis. This is not the first time that a famous content creator has been murdered. In 2018, an Iraqi model and Instagram creator named Tara Farez, who had 20 million followers, was shot dead in broad daylight in Baghdad. No one was arrested in connection with the incident.