Popular Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef has said that he'll take the military and the government at their word that they were not behind the decision to take his weekly television program off the air, but he said it still doesn't make them look "very nice."
Youssef, often compared to US comedian Jon Stewart, spoke yesterday in his first televised appearance in Egypt since October.
The private station CBC suspended his show after the season's first episode, which was highly critical of the military and the nationalist fervour gripping the nation after the popularly backed coup that ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
The station said the satirist had violated its editorial policy and contractual obligations, and that he upset Egyptians sensibilities by attacking "symbols of the state." Government and presidential officials at the time said the decision was a private issue between Youssef and the station.
Youssef, whose show called "The Program" mirrored Stewart's "The Daily Show," said he truly believes the military-backed government's denials that it did not order the suspension but added that "at the end of the day, the regime doesn't look very nice."
He denied he criticised the country's powerful and popular military chief, General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who removed Morsi from office, but added: "Suppose I did? At the end of the day he is a person."
"The message this would send is that you want to silence people," he said.
He said he hoped el-Sissi doesn't run for the presidency, and that the people's "love" for him doesn't "spoil him." El-Sissi has not ruled out he would run for president, and a large following is already urging him to nominate himself.
Youssef still criticised the CBC, saying it used contractual pretexts to justify its decision.
"This is a program that will upset some people, please others, and others won't care for it," he said. "But you don't have to be a custodian of the people."
In a second, unaired episode this season, Youssef said he asked authorities or the station to say clearly if they considered that the program harms Egypt. "I would have stayed home. But this would be a very bad sign for the country," he said.
Youssef regularly poked fun at Morsi and his Islamist allies. They filed a lawsuit against him and Youssef was briefly held before he posted bail.
"The fact of the matter is after 30 episodes, the program wasn't stopped," he told his interviewer Yosri Fouda on private broadcaster ONTV. "But it was (now) stopped after one episode.
