Egypt’s prosecutor-general has ordered the arrest of famous political satirist Bassem Youssef to look into complaints accusing him of insulting President Mohamed Morsi, denigrating Islam and spreading false news with the aim of disrupting public order, reported state news agency MENA Saturday.
Youssef hosts a weekly satire show El-Bernameg (The Show) on private satellite television channel CBC.
The complaints were filed by 12 citizens after Youssef’s 1 March episode in which he mocked the president’s public interview with TV anchor Amr El-Leithy in February.
In January, a number of Islamist lawyers filed a lawsuit against Youssef, accusing him of “undermining the standing of the president” during his show.
However, charges were dropped before the case reached court.