(AFP FILE PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB)
The Cairo Regional Center for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA) issued a verdict on the dispute between Bassem Youssef, the production company QSoft, and CBC channel, state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
Youssef, a surgeon-turned-satirist, denied being a part of a legal dispute regarding the suspension of his famous show Al-Bernameg.
The Center fined Youssef EGP 100m in favour of CBC, due to Youssef’s and QSoft’s violation of the contract between them and the channel and terminating the contract of “Al-Bernameg” show in November.
Bassem questioned in a tweet the timing of the news, saying: “I’ve been thrown into a commercial dispute I’m not a part of regarding CBC ending the show, and the timing [of] releasing the news raises questions.”
Al-Ahram claims the verdict was lodged at the Center on 10 November. According to its website, CRCICA is an independent non-profit international organisation established in Egypt in 1979. In 1987, the Egyptian Government recognised and approved CRCICA’s status as an international organisation. The Centre and its branches were endowed with all the necessary privileges and immunities ensuring their independent functioning.
QSoft refused to comment on the issue, saying in a statement on the show’s official Facebook page: “Under clause no. 40 of CRCICA’s regulations QSoft will adhere to the secrecy of the trial.”
CBC announced in November 2013 that its board decided to stop the show due to its producer and presenter’s insistence on “not adhering to the CBC’s editorial policy”.
