Egyptian singer at center of raunchy video scandal has jail term reduced

CAIRO - Last month, a court in Egypt sentenced singer Shyma to two years behind bars on charges of inciting debauchery. An Egyptian appeals court on Tuesday reduced her original two-year jail term to one year, legal sources said.

The ruling was issued by the Misdemeanor Appeals Court in Cairo in response to a contestation filed by Shyma against the two-year sentence delivered by a lower court, reports Gulf News.

The court upheld an order for the singer to pay a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds in the same case, the sources said.

Shyma, whose real name is Shaima Ahmad, was charged with inciting debauchery over her video entitled “I have Problems”.

In the video, the 21-year-old singer portrays a teacher in a classroom. She is seen in the video dancing in underwear, while seductively eating a banana and an apple as well as scribbling suggestive words on the blackboard.

The video, which was released online in November, sparked angry debate on Egypt’s TV talk shows and prompted a series of legal complaints against her. - Agencies