The economic misdemeanor court in Alexandria has sentenced physician Omnia Sweidan today on 4 July to six months in prison with hard labor, suspended for three years, after convicting her of publishing false news related to Alexandria University’s Shatby Hospital.
The court also imposed a fine of EGP 20,000 (USD 405) and ordered Sweidan to pay legal expenses. She was acquitted of a second charge of using an electronic account to commit the alleged offense, while the related civil case was referred to the competent civil court.
The case arose after social media posts and subsequent media coverage alleged ethical and professional violations at Shatby Hospital, a teaching hospital affiliated with Alexandria University. According to the Public Prosecution, the investigation was launched after authorities reviewed the circulated claims and received a complaint from the Director of Legal Affairs at Alexandria University Hospitals, who stated that the hospital had received no complaints from patients regarding the alleged incidents.
Prosecutors said a technical examination identified Sweidan as the owner of the social media account that published the posts.
During the investigation, Sweidan acknowledged publishing the post under scrutiny. She told prosecutors that she worked at Alexandria University Hospitals during her compulsory medical assignment between 2020 and 2021, including two months in the hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Department.
According to the prosecution, Sweidan said that, due to her limited professional experience at the time, she believed some of the medical practices she observed were unusual. She also admitted that portions of the post were based on information relayed by others rather than on her own observations and that she had not verified those claims before publishing them.
She further stated that she did not possess identifying information about the patients mentioned in the post and could not identify them. Prosecutors also said she acknowledged that the post attracted increased engagement on her Facebook page.
The Public Prosecution referred Sweidan to trial on two charges: publishing false news through an information network in a manner deemed capable of disturbing public order, and using an electronic account to commit that offense. The court convicted her on the first charge and acquitted her on the second.
The suspended sentence means Sweidan will not serve the six-month prison term unless she commits another offense during the three-year suspension period, subject to the applicable legal provisions.
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