Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef faces criminal investigations after prosecutors in Cairo announced they were looking into allegations that the popular comedian had insulted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi on his television show.
Youssef has been called Egypt’s Jon Stewart for his sharp wit and keen political satire.
According to a New York Times report, an Islamist lawyer who filed the complaint said Youssef’s monologue about Morsi constituted a “sharp attack on the person of the president.” A Muslim Brotherhood lawyer, meanwhile, filed a separate lawsuit demanding Youssef’s show, as well as the channel that airs it, be taken off the air because it allows “sarcasm against the president.”
To read more about the intersection of politics and satire, read this fascinating Moment symposium on the intersection of politics and satire.