CAIRO, Egypt (CelebrityAccess) Sherine Abdel-Wahab, Egyptian singer, has been banned from performing in her home country after suggesting that it does not support free speech.
The singer, popularly known as Sherine, was performing in Bahrain when she said, “Here I can say whatever I want. In Egypt, anyone who talks gets imprisoned.”
The video clip has been circulated online and Egypt’s Musicians Union responded Friday by barring the singer from performing and summoned her for questioning, according to the Associated Press.
A pro-government attorney filed a complaint against Sherine, accusing her of “insulting Egypt and inviting suspi8cious rights groups to interfere in Egypt’s affairs.”
Sherine was sentenced to six months in prison last year for saying at a concert that the Nile was polluted; the sentence was suspended and she said it was a “bad joke.”
Sherine hosts the Arabic version of “The Voice” and apologized again after the Friday ban.
“I am very tired. I made a mistake. I am sorry. I appeal to the president of the Arab Republic of Egypt, who is our father. I feel that I was persecuted. I did nothing. I love Egypt,” she said, according to the AP.
There has been a crackdown on dissent in the country since the Arab Spring, after President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi came to power in 2013. Thousands of people have been jailed or forced to leave the country.
