The cause of death is unclear, but Habash's lawyer Ahmed al-Khawaga, who confirmed the death of the news agency AFP, says that the 24-year-old filmmaker and photographer's health in recent days has been getting worse and that he was hospitalized but then taken back to prison, where he passed the night towards Saturday.
The music video that Habash directed to the song "Balaha" criticizes alleged corruption within the government and especially Egypt's authoritarian president Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi, which is compared to a date fruit. The song, which has been played more than five million times on Youtube, is performed by rock singer Ramy Essam, who became internationally famous during the Egyptian Revolution in 2011 when he sang protest songs at the Tahrir Square in Cairo.
Sanctuary musician in MalmöHe became a refugee musician in Malmö 2014 - 2016, a scholarship awarded to persecuted writers and musicians, and has participated in "On the track" and in Almedalen.
In a post on his Facebook page, Ramy Essam writes that Shady Habash has spent almost 800 days in the Tora prison in Cairo, adding:
“Shady was the kindest and bravest of people. He never hurt anyone. May God be gracious to him. "
The copywriter of the song, Galal el-Behairy, was also arrested after the song went viral and sentenced to a three-year prison sentence for "insulting the security service" and "spreading fake news," writes Al-Jazeera.