CAIRO: Egyptian pop diva Sherine Abdel Wahab has been referred to trial for suggesting at a concert that drinking from the Nile River could lead to illness, judicial officials told AFP on Wednesday.
The singer’s trial date has been set for Dec. 23, they said, on charges of “harming the public interest.”
The announcement came after the Musicians Syndicate in Egypt said it would bar her from performing in the country after she made the remark at a concert in the UAE.
“The syndicate decided to suspend Sherine Abdel Wahab from singing, following her unjustified mockery of our beloved Egypt. We have opened an investigation and will not grant Abdel Wahab the necessary permits to perform until she has been questioned,” the Musicians Syndicate said in a statement.
Social media users had shared a video of a fan asking her to sing her tune “Have you drunk from the Nile.”
“You’d get bilharzia,” she said, referring to a water-borne parasite Egypt struggled for decades to combat. “Drink Evian, it’s better,” she joked, referring to a brand of bottled water.
Later, Abdel Wahab posted on Facebook that the concert had taken place more than a year ago.
“I will not try to find out who the person is who kept it and released it at this time. I don’t recall saying that because of course I don’t mean it, and it doesn’t reflect my personal feelings toward my nation ... it was just a foolish joke and if I had the chance again, I would not repeat it. I am sorry,” she wrote.
The charismatic singer topped the charts in the region before announcing her retirement last year, but has since gone back on her decision.
She was also a judge on the Arabic version of the popular talent show “The Voice.”
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