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Egypt's top prosecutor orders arrest of hit TV satirist Egypt's top prosecutor orders arrest of hit TV satirist
(about 5 hours later)
Egypt's top prosecutor has ordered the arrest of the Middle East's most popular TV satirist for allegedly insulting both Islam and the Egyptian president. The Middle East's most popular TV satirist has been issued with an arrest warrant and questioned by Egypt's top prosecutor for allegedly insulting Islam and the Egyptian president.
The case has heightened concerns about the future of free speech in Egypt, as it comes only a day after nine opposition activists and four lawyers were arrested in Alexandria – and less than a week after five prominent activists were cited for encouraging protests against the Muslim Brotherhood, whose affiliates lead Egypt's government. It is the latest in a series of arrests of opposition activists, lawyers and politicians this week – and according to Egypt's leading human rights campaigner, it heralds the most serious affront to free speech since associates of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood assumed power last year. "This is the crackdown," said Heba Morayef, director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) in Egypt.
Bassem Youssef, who is known as Egypt's Jon Stewart, rose to prominence following the country's 2011 uprising. His show attracts over 30 million viewers across the Middle East, has previously been sued several times by private individuals. But this is the first time that the prosecutor general, Talaat Abdallah, has followed up one of their complaints with legal action – a deeply symbolic gesture that suggests the Islamist-led regime of Mohamed Morsi is now prepared to take a more authoritarian stance against its critics. Bassem Youssef, who is known as Egypt's Jon Stewart, rose to prominence following the country's 2011 uprising. His show attracts more than 30 million viewers across the Middle East and has been sued several times by private individuals.
Youssef's show, al-Bernameg, critiques both fundamentalist clerics and Morsi – whose face Youssef once controversially projected on to a pillow – and is seen as a triumph for free speech in the post-Mubarak era. But this is the first time that the prosecutor general, Talaat Abdallah, has followed up one of their complaints with legal action – a symbolic gesture that suggests President Mohamed Morsi's Islamist-led regime is now prepared to take a more authoritarian stance against its critics.
Youssef's show al-Bernameg critiques both fundamentalist clerics and Morsi – whose face Youssef once controversially projected on to a pillow – and is seen as a triumph for free speech in the post-Mubarak era.
But that rosy view has been rocked by the prosecutor's intervention, the significance of which was forewarned earlier this month in an interview with the Guardian, when Youssef ominously said: "You can't prevent people from suing us. The tipping point would be if these law suits are activated by the attorney general."But that rosy view has been rocked by the prosecutor's intervention, the significance of which was forewarned earlier this month in an interview with the Guardian, when Youssef ominously said: "You can't prevent people from suing us. The tipping point would be if these law suits are activated by the attorney general."
This weekend that tipping point arrived, and it was received furiously by the government's opponents. This weekend that moment arrived and it has been received furiously by the government's opponents.
"Pathetic efforts to smother dissent and intimidate media is a sign of a shaky regime and a bunker mentality," tweeted Mohamed ElBaradei, the leader of Egypt's main opposition coalition."Pathetic efforts to smother dissent and intimidate media is a sign of a shaky regime and a bunker mentality," tweeted Mohamed ElBaradei, the leader of Egypt's main opposition coalition.
Youssef's arrest is doubly concerning for Egypt's disparate opposition because it comes so soon after Abdallah also accused five anti-Brotherhood activists of using social media to incite violence against the Muslim Brotherhood. But in their most recent tweets, some of the activists were actively critical of violence. This has prompted fears that their arrest was a politically motivated ruse to crack down on prominent critics of the government. Youssef himself characteristically focused on the lighter side of his plight, arriving at court in a comically outsized version of a graduation hat worn by Morsi at a ceremony in Pakistan this month.
Abdallah's actions also renewed concerns about Egypt's "Brotherhoodisation", a term used by critics of the regime to imply that the Muslim Brotherhood has used its influence to appoint its allies to administrative positions whose roles are meant to be politically neutral. Abdallah himself has long been considered such a politicised appointment, after Morsi controversially circumvented constitutional protocol to promote him in November. Abdallah's decision to arrest the activists and Youssef adds to this impression, particularly as it immediately followed a promise by Morsi to punish those who had incited violence against the Brotherhood. To add to the mess, a judge this week ruled that Abdallah's appointment was illegal – but Abdallah himself refused to stand down. While inside, he said in tweets he later deleted: "Police officers and lawyers at the prosecutor-general's office want to be photographed with me, maybe this is why they ordered my arrest?"
Crowds massed outside the court chanted: "Bassem, Bassem" after he was released on bail worth £1,500 (15,500 Egyptian pounds) following three hours of questioning.
But campaigners framed his situation in graver terms. "I would call this a crackdown," reiterated HRW's Morayef. "I think it's targeted, it's planned, and obviously it comes after a couple of speeches by Morsi where he made very clear threats."
Last Sunday, Morsi gave a speech and published a series of tweets in which he promised to take necessary measures against opposition figures who incited what he called violence and rioting.
Youssef's arrest is doubly concerning for Egypt's disparate opposition because it comes just a day after nine opposition activists and four lawyers were arrested in Alexandria – and less than a week after Abdallah launched legal proceedings against five prominent activists (including the well-known siblings Alaa Abdel-Fattah and Mona Seif) for inciting violence against the Muslim Brotherhood.
It has also raised the possibility of a wider censorship of the media. For several months, the prosecutor-general has summoned journalists for questioning on charges of criminal defamation. But no related legal proceedings have yet been set in motion, which is why this week's developments have so alarmed the opposition.
"This has been the first step, the Alaa and Mona case, and the Bassem Youssef case," said Morayef. "And that's why this is so serious."
Abdallah's actions also renewed concerns about Egypt's "Brotherhoodisation", a term used by critics of the regime to imply that the Muslim Brotherhood has used its influence to appoint its allies to administrative positions whose roles are meant to be politically neutral.
Abdallah himself has long been considered such a politicised appointment, after Morsi controversially circumvented constitutional protocol to promote him in November.
Abdallah's decision to arrest the activists and Youssef adds to this impression, particularly as it immediately followed Morsi's speech last Sunday.
To add to the mess, a judge this week ruled that Abdallah's appointment was illegal – but Abdallah himself refused to stand down.