Cairo: Controversial Egyptian belly dancer and actress Sama Al Masry, known for her vocal criticism of Islamists, has been released on bail following an investigation for allegedly slandering the deposed Islamist president Mohammad Mursi and for defaming Islam, sources said on Sunday.
Prosecutors ordered the release of Sama on bail of 3,000 Egyptian pounds (Dh1,578) pending further investigations, the sources added.
Sama, who recently launched a TV station with shows that mainly target Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood group, denied the accusations in the two-hour inquiry, saying her work was political satire.
She claimed that unidentified backers of the Brotherhood have threatened to kill her family due to her criticism of the Islamist group on her shows.
Last month, Sama launched her pro-military channel, named Feluoul, a term meaning “remnants” in Arabic, which has been widely circulated in Egypt since 2011 and makes references to figures in the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak .
The station often broadcasts music videos in which Sama assails Islamists and Nobel Laureate Mohammad Al Baradei, who briefly served as Egypt’s vice-president after the military’s overthrow of Mursi last July. Al Baradei resigned in mid-August in protest against security forces’ deadly crackdown on two mass vigils held by Mursi’s backers in Cairo.
Sama recently released a video clip comparing US President Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden and accusing Obama of siding with the Brotherhood.
She was quoted in a recent interview as saying she will run for parliament, hoping to win the seat of Mursi’s hometown in the legislature.