Six Young Christians Jailed in Egypt After TikTok Video Deemed Offensive to Islam
Six Christian men from Minya, Egypt, ages 17 to 23, have been held in state custody since early October after posting a TikTok video that authorities said was offensive to Islam. The men reenacted a scene from a 2018 Egyptian comedy film that had been cleared by state censors. Advocacy groups are calling for their immediate release.
Six young Christian men from the village of Ezbet Tanious in Egypt's Minya governorate remain in detention after posting a TikTok video that local authorities deemed offensive to Islam.
The men, aged 17 to 23, posted the video on October 4, 2026. It showed them reenacting a scene from "Khalawis," a 2018 Egyptian comedy film that was cleared by state censors and still airs on satellite television. The scene depicts prison inmates who do not know required Quranic prayer verses.
The men deleted the video within hours after friends warned them it was spreading. But a local resident had already reshared it, triggering online calls for violence against the men and their village's Christian community.
Families and church representatives brought five of the men to a local police station on October 6, believing they would be released once tensions settled. The sixth turned himself in after authorities reportedly detained his mother in his place.
On October 9, local religious leaders held a reconciliation meeting. The church issued a formal apology to Muslim residents of the village. Despite that, the case was transferred to the Supreme State Security Prosecution under Case No. 8430 of 2026. State security prosecutors ordered an initial four-day detention, later extended by 15 days.
The men face charges of blasphemy, contempt of religion, and promoting extremist ideas.
ADF International and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights have both noted that hundreds of similar videos using the same audio clip remain online without legal consequence. Kelsey Zorzi, Senior Counsel at ADF International, said the arrests fit a pattern of religious minorities in Egypt facing prosecution for social media activity.
As of late October 2026, advocacy groups continue to press Egyptian authorities to drop all charges and release the men.
