Bassem Youssef and the Fate Of Independent Media in Egypt
Bassem Sabry discusses the investigation of popular Egyptian political satirist Bassem Youssef as well as the fate of Egypt's independent media.
For 15,000 Egyptian pounds, a bit over $2,200, famous Egyptian political satirist and “Egypt’s Jon Stewart” Bassem Youssef has been released on bail. He faces charges of insulting the president, contempt for Islam, publishing false news and reportedly also a fourth charge that has not yet become public.
A throng of his fans had passionately greeted him upon his arrival at the prosecutor’s office. One even had an oversized version of Morsi’s now-famous Pakistani doctorate hat similar to one that Bassem had featured recently on his show. Youssef, laughing, donned this one in the street for a moment before heading in to comply with the investigation. While there, he appeared to keep his cool, reportedly even posting a few lighthearted tweets during the proceedings, and he seemed even more defiant in his subsequent interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. But later, Youssef tweeted in an uncharacteristically sombre tone: “It seems they want to drain us physically, emotionally and financially.”
While his case has drawn massive international and local attention and condemnation — with even Jon Stewart himself dedicating 11 minutes of his show to support for Youssef and a vociferous criticism of Morsi — quite a few voices, mostly Islamist, have claimed he got what he thoroughly deserves. Youssef, to them, is intentionally causing needless national unrest, crossing all lines of “proper, constructive opposition,” has often “trespassed moral and cultural norms” and is perhaps even “against Islam” itself. Some even went as far as making the paranoid suggestion that Stewart’s support of Youssef was “proof of how organized the international conspiracy against Morsi and the Islamic project is.”
Later the following day, additional serious charges were filed against Youssef and a host of other media figures in a new and separate case. The day after that, the daily Al-Watan produced a letter from the Egyptian investment authority seemingly threatening to take Bassem Youssef’s channel off the air unless the show is canceled or amends its tone, causing an explosion of outrage on social media. Many now worry about an all-out assault against Youssef and the private media.
