Singer sentenced to prison for video that ‘incited debauchery’

The 25-year-old was arrested last month.

A court in Egypt has jailed a 25-year-old singer for two years after she starred in a music video in which she appeared in her underwear and suggestively ate a banana. Shaimaa Ahmed, more commonly known as Shyma, was arrested last month after the video caused controversy in the African country. Local media have reported that an Egyptian court has now found her guilty of inciting debauchery and publishing an indecent film. The singer was also fined 10,000 pounds (£420) by a Cairo court. The video's director was also sentenced to two years in prison. Both can appeal against the ruling. After the video for I Have Issues was released, Shyma apologised via her official Facebook page. “I didn’t imagine all this would happen and that I would be subjected to such a strong attack from everyone, as a young singer … who has dreamt from a young age of being a singer,” she wrote. Under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian authorities have used wide-ranging morality laws to crack down on a number of artists. In 2015, a court jailed a female dancer for also “inciting debauchery” after she featured in the music video for a song called Let Go of My Hand. Another singer is also facing trial for "spreading provocative publicity" because she suggested that drinking from the River Nile could make you sick. Regarding Shyma, this is the video that she was sentenced to jail for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toAy1iClD9I Clip via - Music Box