Shady Habash (21 August 1995 – 1 May 2020) was an Egyptian filmmaker.

Biography

Habash started a photography and video business in 2006. He was imprisoned without trial in March 2018 for making a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the exiled Egyptian rock musician

Ramy Essam Ramy Essam ( ar, رامي عصام, ; born 1987 in Mansoura) is an Egyptian musician. He is best known for his appearances in Tahrir Square in Cairo during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. Ramy is one of the few singers in Middle East to sing h ...

, that mocked Egyptian President

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi; (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian mil ...

. The video's release prompted the arrest of eight people, who were accused of "joining a terrorist group" and "spreading false news." As of 3 May 2020, the video had more than five million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. After being incarcerated for more than two years in pretrial detention, Habash died in

Tora Prison Tora Prison ( arz, سجن طره '; ) is an Egyptian prison complex for criminal and political detainees, located in Tora, Egypt. The complex is situated in front of the Tora El Balad metro station. The main buildings in the Tora Prison complex a ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

in May 2020 at the age of 24. Prosecutors stated that Habash's cause of death was officially ruled as

alcohol poisoning Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...

in an

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

, with the prosecutor-general further elaborating that Habash had mistakenly drinken alcohol-based hand sanitizer; according to the prosecutor-general, Habash died before he could be hospitalized.

Legacy

John Greyson John Greyson (born March 13, 1960) is a Canadian director, writer, video artist, producer, and political activist, whose work frequently deals with queer characters and themes. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in ...

's 2021 experimental short documentary film ''

International Dawn Chorus Day The dawn chorus occurs when birds sing at the start of a new day. In temperate countries this is most noticeable in spring when the birds are either defending a breeding territory, trying to attract a mate or calling in the flock. In a given loc ...

'' was created as a tribute to Habash and Sarah Hegazi.Sarah Jae Leiber
"International Dawn Chorus Day Premieres April 29"
''

Broadway World BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City covering Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, N ...

'', March 29, 2021.

References

External links

*
Music video for "Balaha" by Ramy Essam
on YouTube Egyptian film directors 1995 births Place of birth missing 2020 deaths Egyptian people who died in prison custody {{Egypt-bio-stub Prisoners who died in Egyptian detention