CAIRO - Egyptian pop star Sherine has won an appeal against a six-month prison sentence for suggesting drinking from the Nile River leads to illness, judicial sources said Wednesday.

Sherine Abdel Wahab, known simply as Sherine, was convicted in February after being caught on tape joking with concert-goers that Nile water could give them parasites. The famous singer was found guilty of a public order offense and of spreading "fake news" by a Cairo court, which ordered her release on bail while she appealed the sentence.

A video shared on social media of the United Arab Emirates concert shows a fan asking her to sing her song "Have You Ever Drunk From the Nile".

She responds that drinking from the river could cause "bilharzia", a name for the parasitic disease schistosomiasis that was once widespread in Egypt.

"Drink Evian instead," she jokes.

Sherine, who has hosted the Arabic version of singing contest The Voice, later apologized in a Facebook posting.

She was acquitted on Wednesday by the court of appeal on technical grounds, judicial sources said. - AFP