After nearly five hours of questioning, the satirist known as the "Egyptian Jon Stewart" was released on bail Sunday.
Bassem Youssef is charged with insulting Islam and President Mohammed Morsi. He's among the most prominent critics of Egypt's Islamist president to be called in for questioning recently, prompting concerns that the president is cracking down on his detractors and members of the opposition.
Youssef is a doctor-turned-celebrity who came by his star status by lampooning public figures and the media. Politicians of all stripes are regularly skewered on his weekly show, "ElBernameg," or "The Program," and that's made him both popular and not, as the AP reports:
"The fast-paced show has attracted a wide viewership, while at the same time earning itself its fair share of detractors. Youssef has been a frequent target of lawsuits, most of them brought by Islamist lawyers who have accused him of 'corrupting morals' or violating 'religious principles.'"