Egyptian comedian for Chaser Lecture

Egyptian comedian and satirist, Bassem Youssef, who was forced to end his local TV show, Al Bernameg, after it was considered no longer safe to satirise Egyptian politics, will speak at The 16th Inaugural Chaser Lecture.

The event at Sydney Town Hall on Monday November 9, is hosted by The Chaser, in partnership with international human rights group ARTICLE 19.

Bassem Youssef is a former heart surgeon and television satirist seen as the barometer for free speech in post-revolutionary Egypt. He was dubbed “the Jon Stewart of the Arab World”, but was forced to end his wildly popular TV show, Al Bernameg, after it was considered no longer safe to satirise Egyptian politics. He was named in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2013.

Funds raised from the event will be used to support the freedom of expression campaigns of global human rights charity ARTICLE 19, whose current focus in this region is the sedition charges faced by the 2015 winner of the International Press Freedom Award, Malaysian cartoonist Zunar.