Egyptian prosecutors launch investigation into singer's mental health sectioning

Sherine Abdel Wahab's family told media they are concerned about her recent reconciliation with ex-husband Hossam Habib

Egyptian singer Sherine Abdel Wahab performs during the 56th International Festival of Carthage in Tunis, Tunisia. EPA

Public prosecutors have launched an investigation into allegations by Egyptian singer Sherine Abdel Wahab that she was assaulted by her brother and forcibly taken to a mental health facility.

Her brother denies the claim, saying that the singer is in need of treatment for a drug addiction.

A statement from Egypt’s public prosecution office on Monday said that it had received a complaint from the singer’s lawyer saying that she was being held at the facility against her will.

The prosecution said in its statement that it had interrogated the hospital’s director and its technical manager, who “gave a testimony that contradicted what was said in the singer’s complaint”.

Mohamed Abdel Wahab, the singer's brother, phoned in to popular talk show El Hekaya on Sunday night and accused her ex-husband, singer Hossam Habib, of coercing her into taking drugs.

The couple has had a publicly tumultuous relationship.

Abdel Wahab last week rescinded a number of lawsuits against Habib in a move that surprised many of her fans, especially after she detailed the physical abuse she had allegedly suffered at his hands in a number of interviews last month.

“My sister is being manipulated by a gang made up of her ex-husband, Hossam Habib, and her manager, Sarah El Tabakh. We are losing her,” Mr Abdel Wahab said.

He denied that he had assaulted the singer, saying that it was not him but a team of specialised personnel from the treatment facility who took her from her home.

Mr Abdel Wahab added that the hospital’s director had shared her medical file with prosecutors, which he says will prove that she has been taking a concerning amount of drugs and that she is in need of treatment.

“We have known for some time that she and her husband were taking drugs,” Mr Abdel Wahab said, “I don’t know if having her taken from her home in this way is lawful or not, but she is my sister and I had to act to save her life.”

Abdel Wahab reconciled with Habib earlier this month, to the dismay of her family.

The singer’s mother, who was present during her brother’s phone-in to El Hekaya, said that Abdel Wahab had kicked her out of her home last week after reconciling with Habib. She said that he had, in the past, forced her to cut ties with her family.

Her mother said that she was entirely in support of forcibly placing Abdel Wahab in the treatment centre and that it was she who had urged her son to have her committed.

The singer’s lawyer, Yasser Kantoush, also phoned in to El Hekaya on Sunday night, confirming that when he first arrived at the hospital where Abdel Wahab was being kept, he was told by doctors that it was in her best interest to remain there, as she was in dire need of treatment.

They also told him they would be submitting papers to the health ministry and to prosecutors to support that assertion.

The lawyer said Habib had been outside the hospital since Abdel Wahab's admission.

Mr Kantoush said that until authorities reach a final course of action, he would be petitioning to have Abdel Wahab released into his care or the care of a family member.

He added that, should authorities mandate that she undergo rehabilitation treatment, the singer would probably seek care at a different mental health facility, in protest over her forced removal from her home.

The lawyer also revealed that some of her friends had suggested sending her abroad to receive treatment.