Egypt: Shady Habash, filmmaker who mocked el-Sisi, dies in prison

Shady Habash dies in Cairo’s Tora Prison, say lawyers, after two years in detention for directing video mocking el-Sisi

An Egyptian filmmaker imprisoned without trial for more than two years for making a music video that mocked President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has died at a maximum-security prison complex, two rights lawyers said.

Shady Habash died in Cairo’s Tora Prison complex, his lawyer Ahmed el-Khwaga said on Saturday. He said the cause of death was not immediately clear.

“His health had been deteriorating for several days … He was hospitalised, then returned to the prison yesterday evening where he died in the night,” el-Khwaga told the AFP news agency, without giving further details.

There was no immediate comment from the interior ministry, which oversees Egypt‘s prison system.

Police forces arrested the 24-year-old filmmaker in March 2018 after he directed a music video by Ramy Essam, an Egyptian musician exiled in Sweden.

The video featured a song that mocked the general-turned-president, comparing him to a fruit date and condemning alleged government corruption.

Read more at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/egypt-shady-habash-filmmaker-mocked-el-sisi-dies-prison-200502183317220.html