Egyptian diva to face trial for disparaging a river

Egyptian pop diva Sherine Abdel Wahab has been referred to trial for suggesting at a concert that drinking from the Nile River could lead to illness, judicial officials announced Wednesday.

The singer’s trial date has been set for Dec. 23, officials said, on charges of “harming the public interest.”

The announcement came after Egypt’s Musicians Syndicate said it would bar her from performing in the country after she made the remark at a concert in the United Arab Emirates.

Social media users had shared a video of a fan asking her to sing her tune “Have you drunk from the Nile.”

“You’d get bilharzia,” she said, referring to a water-borne parasite Egypt struggled for decades to combat. “Drink Evian,” she joked. “It’s better.”

Her comments, the Musicians Syndicate said in a statement, constituted “unjustified ridicule [of] our dear Egypt.”

Most of Egypt’s population lives along the banks of the Nile.

Later, Abdel Wahab posted on Facebook that the concert had taken place more than a year ago.

“I don’t recall saying that because of course I don’t mean it,” she wrote, “and it doesn’t reflect my personal feelings toward my nation ... I’m sorry.”

The charismatic singer topped the charts in the region before announcing her retirement last year, but has since gone back on her decision.

She was also a judge on the Arabic version of the popular talent show The Voice.