An Egyptian court sentenced on Tuesday pop star Sherine Abdel-Wahab, known among her fans as Sherine, to six months in jail over her previous remarks indicating that drinking from the Nile River water causes illness.
In a concert in Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates last year, a fan asked Sherine to sing her famous song about Nile River water and she jokingly answered that "it would infect you with bilharzia," a parasitic disease that once outbroke in Egypt. She also recommended the fan to drink bottled water instead.
Cairo Misdemeanour Court convicted her of spreading "false news."
The few-second video of Sherine's remarks went viral on social media websites last November, which led the pop star to write a statement of apiology on her Facebook page, describing her previous remarks as "a silly joke" that did not mean to insult her country or offend her Egyptian fans.
"It was a silly joke and if time went back I wouldn't say it of course," she wrote, concluding her statement with "I am sorry."
Sherine, one of the most popular singers in the Arab world, is still free on bail pending an appeal.
