Sunday, Jun 28, 2015

Cairo: An Egyptian court on Sunday sentenced a female singer and two men to one year in prison for participating in a racy music video.

The Cairo Misdemeanour Court convicted the amateur singer Reda Al Fouley and cameraman Rezq Ahmad of inciting debauchery over the video titled Seeb Eedi (Let my hands go) that went viral online more than one month ago.

A second man, identified as Wael Sedik, was convicted of the same charges in absentia and handed down a one-year jail term.

The court also ordered the trio be put under a one-year probation. The ruling can be appealed.

Sedik, allegedly Al Fouley’s boyfriend, appeared in the controversial video. Sedik, who holds Egyptian-US citizenship, left Egypt after the video caused an outrage in the conservative country.

Al Fouley and Ahmad were arrested last month and faced a fast-track trial. In the video, the singer dances in low-cut tops and short skirts as she tells the story of a woman being groped on a public bus. The video drew condemnation on social media and local television stations for the use of sexual innuendos.

In a recent Facebook post, Sedik criticised the decision to put him on trial.

“I’ve made history because I’m the first one to be tried because of a video clip although it [the video] does not talk on religion or politics.”

By Ramadan Al Sherbini Correspondent

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