"Back in the USSA"
Greg Fiorentino via Mercedes <mailto:mercedes@okiebenz.com>
November 16, 2017 at 5:09 PM
Yup!!
-----Original Message-----
From: Mercedes [mailto:mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com] On Behalf Of
Andrew Strasfogel via Mercedes
Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2017 1:00 PM
To: Mercedes Discussion List
Cc: Andrew Strasfogel
Subject: [MBZ] UNBELIEVABLY OT: Singer jokes about the Nile, now will
stand trial
Yet another reason to be glad you ive in the US of A.
Singer jokes about the Nile, now will stand trialPublished: Thursday,
November 16, 2017
Famous Egyptian singer Sherine Abdel-Wahab is charged with incitement
and "harming the public interest" after joking about the Nile River
during a concert.
While onstage, the singer said drinking from the famous river can
cause schistosomiasis, a water-borne infection caused by parasitic worms.
"Drink Evian, it's better," she quipped.
The video, taken last year, recently went viral online. Lawyer Hany
Gad filed suit, claiming the comments insulted the Egyptian
government. Now she must stand trial next month, judicial officials
said yesterday.
The Egyptian Musicians Syndicate has also announced it is banning
Abdel-Wahab from performing, due to her "unjustified mockery of our
dear Egypt," and ordered radio stations not to play songs by the hit
artist. The organization has vast power over Egyptian media. Its board
can issue warrants for crimes, conduct searches, make arrests and help
prosecutors in cases.
Abdel-Wahab apologized in a Facebook post yesterday.
"I don't remember saying that, because of course I don't mean it —
this is not what I mean to say about my country," she wrote. "God
knows how much I love this country and am dedicated to it. ... I
promise to be more wary in the future of any naive mistakes that could
put me in such a regretful position."
The Egyptian government has run a prolonged crackdown on dissent,
jailing thousands for criticizing the state.
She is not wrong about the river. The parasite has plagued Egypt for
decades, and the government debuted a multimillion-dollar project last
year to get rid of the worm (Samantha Schmidt, *Washington Post*
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/11/16/a-famous-egyptian-singer-cracked-a-joke-about-the-nile-river-for-that-shes-facing-trial/>,
Nov. 16). *— NB*
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