A Palestinian singer has been denied entry to Egypt after she was due to perform at two scheduled concerts in Cairo, The New Arab reported.
Nai Barghouti was denied entry after she arrived at Cairo Airport.
She said in a Facebook post that she had waited for over eight hours to get approval before being turned back.
Barghouti added that she did not know the reason why Egyptian authorities refused her entry. Rights groups have said that Egypt is currently seeing “the worst crackdown on human rights, freedom of expression, and media in the country’s modern history”.
“After being prevented at Cairo Airport from entering Egypt… I was shocked, saddened, and had many conflicting feelings, the most important of which was the loss of the opportunity to communicate with you [Egyptian fans] after a long wait,” Barghouti wrote.
“I prepared a rich and distinctive musical program worthy of the position of Egypt in the heart of the Arab nation… but now I have to wait for a future opportunity, which I hope will be near, so I can share it with you,” the artist added.
Barghouti was due to perform at the Cairo Opera House in the Egyptian capital for the first time in her career on Thursday.
She was then going to give a concert at the Roman Amphitheater in Alexandria the following Saturday.
The concerts have now been postponed.
(The New Arab, PC, SOCIAL)
