She Knocked Her Country on Free Speech. Now She's Banned There

Sherine Abdel-Wahab made comments in Bahrain, now can't perform in Egypt
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 23, 2019 8:00 AM CDT
She Knocked Her Country on Free Speech. Now She's Banned There
In this Dec. 31, 2018, photo, Egyptian singer Sherine Abdel-Wahab performs in Cairo, Egypt.   (AP Photo/Mahmoud Abdel Nasser)

An Egyptian singer has been banned from performing in her home country after suggesting that it doesn't respect free speech. A video clip circulated online shows Sherine Abdel-Wahab, during a performance in Bahrain, saying: "Here I can say whatever I want. In Egypt, anyone who talks gets imprisoned." Egypt's Musicians Union responded late Friday by barring the singer, popularly known by her first name, from performing, per the AP. It also summoned her for questioning. Samir Sabry, a pro-government lawyer with a reputation for moral vigilantism and suing celebrities, filed a complaint against the singer accusing her of "insulting Egypt and inviting suspicious rights groups to interfere in Egypt's affairs." Last year, Sherine was sentenced to six months in prison over a similar clip from a concert in which she joked that the Nile is polluted. The sentence was suspended upon appeal. She apologized for the remark, calling it a "bad joke."

The singer, who hosts the Arabic version of The Voice, apologized again after the latest remarks in a TV interview aired late Friday, saying she was joking. "I am very tired," she said. "I made a mistake. I am sorry. I appeal the president of the Arab Republic of Egypt, who is our father. I feel that I was persecuted. I did nothing. I love Egypt." Egyptian authorities have waged an unprecedented crackdown on dissent since President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi led the military overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president in 2013. The local media is dominated by pro-government outlets that attack anyone seen as criticizing the country or its leaders, and several people have been jailed or fined for violating vaguely written laws outlawing such criticism. Thousands of people have been jailed or forced to leave the country since el-Sissi came to power, mainly Islamists but also a large number of secular activists, politicians, and artists. (More Egypt stories.)

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