Egyptian pop singer Shyma arrested over music video

Egyptian pop star Shyma was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of “inciting debauchery” in a music video.

The 21-year-old released her clip for hit single ‘I Have Issues’ on November 16. The music video shows her dancing in her underwear and eating fruit in front of classroom of men.

Shyma was detained after the video caused numerous complaints; however it was not immediately clear whether she would be formally charged.

The pop singer took to Facebook to release an apology:

“I apologise to all the people who saw the clip and were upset by it and took it in an inappropriate way,” she said. “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.”

Eqypt, a socially conservative and deeply religious country, was voted the worst in the Arab world for women in 2013.

The authorities under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have increased litigation on some artists in Egypt, using the country’s morality laws to support their case.

In 2015, a court sentenced a female belly-dancer to a year in prison for “inciting debauchery” in a music video for a song called ‘Seib Eidy (Let Go of My Hand)’. The director and videographer of the video were also sentenced to one year in prison.

The dancer, named Reda El-Fouly but known publicly as Salma El-Fouly, was released in November 2016 after serving six months in prison.

Watch Shyma’s clip for ‘I Have Issues’

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.