04/01/2014
Egyptian government investigates puppet for possible ties to Islamists
CAIRO ? The Egyptian government's crackdown on suspected Islamists has come to this: a terrorism probe focused on a puppet. Abla Fahita ? a Muppet-style character who regularly appears on Egyptian television ? went on the air Wednesday night to deny allegations that her lines in a recent commercial were coded messages to the recently banned Muslim Brotherhood organization. quot;I am a comedic character,quot; Fahita, a gossipy widow, said in an interview with Egypt's CBC network. The investigation of the puppet is an extreme sign of a climate of fear and paranoia in Egypt that has intensified in recent weeks. Since a coup ousted President Mohammed Morsi in July, the military-backed...
