Egyptian actress questioned for 4 hours over revealing dress

CAIRO — It’s a dress that has shaken Egypt and the uproar continues — prosecutors on Wednesday questioned actress Rania Youssef for at least four hours on accusations of public obscenity over a revealing dress she wore to a cinema gala last week, her lawyer says.

Youssef was allowed to go free after the questioning, pending the completion of the investigation, says the lawyer, Shaban Said.

But he adds that she still faces trial on January 12, a date set by court, and could possibly face up to five years in prison, if convicted.

The initial complaint against the 45-year-old Youssef was filed by a group of lawyers with a reputation for moral vigilantism but they said they withdrew their complaint on Tuesday.

Though she stopped short of an outright apology, Youssef said she did not mean to offend anyone with her long black dress, its see-through skirt revealing her legs in their entirety. She wore the dress last Thursday for the closing ceremony of this year’s Cairo International Film Festival.

— AP

This photo from November 29, 2018, shows Egyptian actress Rania Youssef on the red carpet of the Cairo International Film Festival. (AP Photo/Suheil Saleh)

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