Comedian Khaled Mansour, who works on satirist Bassem Youssef’s programme Al-Bernameg, was questioned by public prosecution on Thursday for charges of contempt of religion and insulting the president. He was released on EGP 5,000 bail.
The complaint filed against him is related to a segment he did last December on Al-Bernameg called “where will it be next Friday?” in which he acted in a fake advertisement mocking President Mohamed Morsi’s public Friday prayers at various mosques and the heightened security that comes with it.
The mock advertisement asks viewers to guess where the president will pray next Friday, with a chance to win the prize of praying with Morsi amidst his heavy security presence, or the chance to travel with the president on one of his many trips.
“This competition does not apply to Copts or those who voted ‘no’ for the constitution,” concluded the comedic segment.
Mansour is the third comedian to face questioning for material performed on Al-Bernameg.
“[The] regime [proves] every day a failure and too pathetic to handle a comedy show except through legal investigations,” tweeted Youssef on Thursday, addressing Mansour’s questioning.
Ali Qandil, who performed a stand-up set as a guest on the popular political satire show, was summoned to appear before the prosecutor general’s office in the beginning of April regarding his routine, which included criticism of some Muslim clerics’ use of religion. He was released after posting a bail of EGP 5,000.
Al-Bernameg’s host, Bassem Youssef, was released on EGP 15,000 following his questioning for similar charges. Youssef will face further questioning on Wednesday.
