Private video leaks: Case dropped as Imsha Rehman forgives accused ‘for Allah’s sake’

TikToker Imsha Rehman has “for Allah’s sake” forgiven the man accused of leaking her alleged private videos online.

Rehman, a popular social media star with over 200,000 followers on TikTok, had in November last year deleted her account after viral videos allegedly showed her sharing an intimate moment with an unidentified person. The alleged leaks had come within days of similar videos of TikToker Manahil Malik, sparking widespread criticism over the internet.

According to media reports, the case against the arrested accused took an unexpected turn as Rehman on Friday forgave the accused “Fi Sabilillah [for Allah’s sake]” during a hearing at a court in Islamabad.

Subsequently, the court granted the man bail and ordered his release.

The development comes days after Rehman finally broke silence and revealed that the culprit who released her “fake videos” had been arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). 

“The videos circulating online were fake and purposely spread to harm me,” she said in her maiden interview since after disappearing from spotlight. The situation, Rehman said, affected her deeply and she could no longer go to the university or face people.

The social media influencer revealed that she had even received death threats, and called netizens out over the prevalent culture where people don’t find it problematic to produce or share such content. “People think it's cool to share others' videos without understanding the damage it can cause.”

Rehman said that instead of releasing a video statement back in November, she chose to take legal action against the culprit, which has led to the arrest of an accused. Praising the FIA for its help, she confirmed that the agency had in its custody the man who allegedly produced and shared the videos.

The videos, which seemed to show the social media influencer sharing an intimate moment with a male friend, sparked strong reactions from people online. Many also expressed concerns over the growing number of cases involving digital privacy violations.

While she had not given an official statement prior to the interview, Rehman had deactivated her Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Facebook accounts. She had also posted a message on her Instagram saying, “Jab tak video viral hai mein ne id off kar di hai [I have deactivated my accounts for as long as the video is doing the rounds].”

Social media activists and other influencers had also called for the removal of the viral videos and urged people to respond more compassionately to such sensitive situations.

The alleged leaks had not only brought to fore the menace of deepfakes but also highlighted issues of privacy violations and the responsibility of social media platforms to protect users' content.