An Egyptian singer known for his anti-government songs said today that authorities stopped him from performing at an arts festival attended by the country's interim president and military chief for "security concerns."
The halted performance Thursday from young singer Mohammed Mohsen comes as the broadcast of a show featuring a popular satirist who skewers public figures apparently was deliberately jammed again yesterday.
Mohsen said representatives from the presidency escorted him out of the Cairo Opera House before his performance was to begin and left him there as the concert went on without him.
Interim President Adly Mansour and military chief Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi, a likely presidential candidate, both attended the concert, which marked the revival of an old arts festival.
Mohsen came to fame for singing during Egypt's 2011 revolt. He performed in Tahrir Square, the center of the protests that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
Mohsen told The Associated Press he thought officials might "specifically targeted" him over his revolutionary songs or because he participated in the 2011 revolt.
Concert coordinator Hany Mehana told the private television channel Al-Nahar that there were security concerns about Mohsen and there wasn't "enough time to investigate."
Mohsen called the situation "illogical." He first wrote about his experience late yesterday night on Facebook.
"I do not sing in the favor of anybody and I have never sung to praise a president," Mohsen told AP. "I will keep on singing for the revolution."
Mohsen recently represented Egypt as a singer in two festivals in Italy and Lebanon. He is a member of the youth committee in a government cultural council.
