By Nada Nader Egyptians are well-known for their great sense of humor, but that humor is under threat due to the mass detention of people – most of whom are youths – who created satirical political videos or comics posted on social media. Earlier this month, five young Egyptian men aged 19-25 from the Atfal Al-Shawarea (Street Children) satirical group were arrested. Four of them are likely to face charges of inciting protests and insulting state institutions. A day after their arrest, the prosecution extended the detention of four performers of the six-member group by 15 days, pending investigation. Their detention was renewed yet again for an additional 15 days on Tuesday. A fifth member of the group, Ezzedeen Khaled, 19, was detained a few days after the first four were arrested and faces the same charges. Khaled was later released and ordered to pay a fine of EGP 10,000, Mahmoud Othman, the group’s lawyer told the Associated Press. The sixth member of the group, Mohamed Zain, has not been detained, Othman added. The group was arrested over of a video clip entitled “We Chickened Out” in which they criticized the unfruitful…
Satirical Art Seems to Vanish in Egypt as ‘Year of Youth’ Marred by Detention Cases
May 24, 2016
