Iraqi social media influencer Um Fahad shot dead by motorcycle gunman in Baghdad

Iraqi authorities were investigating the killing of a well-known social media influencer Saturday by an armed motorcyclist outside her home in central Baghdad.

Ghufran Mahdi Sawadi, known as Um Fahad or “Mother of Fahad”, was popular on social media platforms TikTok and Instagram, where she posted videos of herself dancing to music and was followed by dozens thousands of users.

An Iraqi security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the attacker opened fire as Sawadi parked his Cadillac outside his house on Friday, killing her, then took her phone. and fled the scene.

The killing took place in Zayoona, the same neighborhood where prominent Iraqi researcher and security expert Hisham al-Hashimi was shot dead in 2020. Before the 2003 U.S. invasion, the neighborhood was home to military leaders and was considered a neighborhood prestigious of Baghdad. In recent years, many militia leaders have taken up residence there.

Sawadi is not the first social media personality to be shot dead in central Baghdad. Last year, Noor Alsaffar or “Noor BM,” a transgender person with a large following on social media, was also fatally shot in the city.

A neighbor of Sawadi, who identified himself only by his nickname, Abu Adam or “father of Adam,” said he went out into the street after hearing two gunshots and saw “the car door open and she was lying on the steering wheel.

“The woman who was with her (in the car) fled and the security forces arrived and cordoned off the entire area, took the victim’s body and towed her car,” he said .

In Iraq, the role of social media influencers has expanded from promoting beauty products and clothing to government projects and programs. Official government invitations classify these influencers as key economic figures at sporting, security and cultural gatherings.

Videos featuring a prominent influencer on Thursday during the 93rd anniversary of the founding of the Iraqi Air Force sparked a backlash, with many criticizing the Defense Ministry for allowing him to record and post videos from sensitive military sites. The ministry defended itself by saying that in the age of social media, like defense ministries around the world, it uses influencers alongside traditional media to communicate with the public.

Last year, an Iraqi court sentenced Sawadi to six months in prison for posting several films and videos on social media containing obscene statements and indecent public behavior, as part of a recent initiative by the Iraqi government to control good morals.

Separately, on Saturday, Iraq’s parliament passed an amendment to the prostitution law – widely criticized by human rights groups – that would punish same-sex relations with a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years . An earlier version of the law would have imposed the death penalty.

The law also prohibits any organization that promotes “sexual deviance,” imposing a sentence of at least seven years and a fine of at least 10 million dinars (about $7,600).