Egypt court rejects 'ban' on musician Mohamed Ramadan after Israel singer photo

The case, brought forward by the head of the Egyptian Artists' Syndicate, requested the court refuse permits from the artist to sing in concerts or perform in any acting roles.

The move was rejected by the court which said art and creativity are "God-given gifts" for self-expression.

The artists' syndicate had cancelled his membership after Ramadan came under fire for posing in photographs with Israel's Omer Adam and Hamad Al-Mazrouie, an advisor to Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, during a trip to Dubai.

The photo was posted by a Twitter account affiliated with the Israeli foreign ministry which is dedicated to reachingArabic audiences. Al-Mazrouie also posted the image but quickly deleted it and affirmed his support for Palestine.

In a statement made after the backlash, he said he is "not a security guard" and doesn't ask fans' their nationalities before posing photographs, according to popular Arabic-language celebrity website Fe El Fan.

He added that, "Palestine is number one", using the title of his hit song Number One. 

"I salute the brotherly Palestinian people."

An Egyptian lawyer filed a case against Ramadan accusing the singer of causing "offence to the Egyptian people" through the pictures.

In July last year, Ramadan was sentenced to one year in prison for insulting pilot Ashraf Aboul Yosr, more commonly referred to as the "suspended pilot" in Egypt.

The 32-year-old Ramadan - who rose to prominence in the Arab world with his catchy songs including hit single Number 1 - was locked in a legal dispute with the pilot after posting a video showing him in a plane's cockpit mid-flight, violating Egypt's aviation laws.

The video triggered outrage with many calling for punitive action against both Ramadan and the pilot, who was in February 2019 suspended from his job.

Aboul Yosr quickly filed a lawsuit against the singer for what he claimed was insult and slander, demanding financial compensation for grounding his career.

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