Egypt’s top political comedy show al-Bernameg has been pulled off the air a week after poking fun at the military chief who ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July.<br /><br />Satirist Bassem Youssef’s criticism of General Sisi was mild compred to previous jokes he aimed at Mursi. In March, Youssef was arrested for insulting Islam and insulting the president.<br /><br />The move is likely to raise further questions about authorities’ commitment to freedom. Egypt is stumbling in its political transition since Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising in 2011.<br /><br />Political tensions are running high in Egypt. On Monday, Mursi and 14 other senior Muslim Brotherhood figures will face trial on charges of inciting violence.<br /><br />Meanwhile, several hundred Islamists protested in Cairo and other Egyptian cities. They were responding to a call for daily protests until Mursi’s trial. <br /><br />Critics of the military say it is tightening its grip on power and returning the country to Mubarak’s era of iron-fisted rule, an allegation it denies.
